Gravity
by OriginEternal
Summary: Creatures and humans co-exist, but not always on friendly terms. Humans are, for the most part, blissfully unaware that their horror movie monsters are real and living among them. Twenty five year old Anna and twenty eight year old Elsa find their worlds intertwined in the most unpleasant of ways, they must learn to work together or risk losing not only their jobs, but their lives.
1. Disappear

Chapter One: Disappear

 _Ten Years Ago_

"Did you see that guy? Flexing like he had something worth seeing! And the pants, they were so tight you could _tell_ he wasn't packing anything worthwhile!" Elsa howled into the night, wiping away the tears that had formed at the corners of her eyes.

"Not all of them weren't worth a look!"

Tiana tried to sound thoughtful, but the wistful smile on her lips told Elsa everything she needed to know. "You got someone's number didn't you?" she asked, playfully poking at Tiana's side, "Not even old enough to be in the club and you're scoring numbers. Better make sure he knows how old you are before you-"

"Oh hush! At least I'm not a bad influence on literally anyone younger than me!"

"I'm two years older than you! Two years more mature, two years wiser and _actually_ an adult-"

A scream rang out in the night and Elsa immediately tensed,throwing her arm out to stop Tiana from moving any further. Her heart raced as she scanned the area around her, it was a seedy part of town that they wouldn't normally visit so late in the night and anything was possible. She took a protective stance, guarding her friend with a ferocity she didn't know she had.

"Els, let's get out of here." Tiana whispered, grabbing at her sleeve. "Now."

"Quiet." Elsa urged, eyes finally locking on to the scuffle from which the scream no doubt originated. Across the street from them a man was seemingly roughing up a young woman, who looked to be about Tiana's age. Far too young to be in such a place so late at night with no one to keep her safe. "Call the cops."

Without waiting for a response, Elsa did something incredibly idiotic and entirely out of character. She took off running in the direction of the fight, dashing across the empty street toward the pair of rocking figures. She could only hear muffled screams now, and that could only mean that the man was covering the woman's mouth. The thought enraged Elsa, causing her to behave rashly, far more rashly than she might normally.

"Back off!" Elsa leaped onto the man's back, throwing punches right to his head. _That'll show him!_ "Let her g-"

In a display of strength that left Elsa in awe, the man reached back with a single hand and gripped her jacket, pulling her off of him easily and tossing her to the side. Elsa called out in pain as she landed on the rough pavement, sliding back into a lamp post that the bulb had been shot out of. Groaning, she shakily rose back to her feet, "I said let her _go_!"

Elsa threw another punch, only to have the man turn to face her now. He smiled, pulling a knife from a sheath at his hip and yanking the young woman closer, almost like a shield. Elsa wasn't sure if it was the fear or her imagination, but she could swear that she could smell the stink of his last meal on his breath. She was queasy from the stench of cheap canned fish and beer, but even more sick at the thought that she might not manage to hold her own until reinforcements arrived.

It was too late for second guessing though, for the man had already begun slashing at her. The blade caught her left arm as she threw it up defensively, and then her exposed side as well. Each cut felt like a searing pinch of her skin, she could feel herself bleeding as she stepped back, and back, and back again, attempting to avoid the quickening blows. Then, the man very suddenly paused his assault, almost as if he had changed his mind. He dropped the first woman, who was barely conscious now, and reached out for Elsa instead.

Her heart leaped into her throat as his hand gripped her wounded arm, she hissed in pain but struggled against him nonetheless, it was do or die now. She wasn't ready to allow herself to be violated or killed by some common street thug, even if she had put herself into this situation to begin with. But her struggling only enticed more violence from the man, who grunted with the force that he put behind a punch aimed right into her gut.

The breath was stolen right out of her with the impact, she didn't even have enough air left in her to make a sound in response to the shock wave of pain that enveloped her. She quivered on the spot as her lungs rattled, trying desperately to get air back into them, but it was to no avail. He struck her again in the stomach, then in the side, and one final time in the face, all the while holding her with his other hand so that she couldn't escape the barrage.

Fear gripped her like a constrictor, sucking the life from her sure as the punches from her assailant pulled the air from her lungs. Her mind raced, her heart no longer felt as though it was beating, but with one of the punches from the man she caught a glimpse of his former target attempting to crawl away. _Just a few more minutes, she can get away. I just need a few more-_

But no matter how slowly she was trying to crawl, the woman couldn't conceal the sound of her shoes and clothing dragging on the pavement. The man grumbled something under his breath as he turned his head slightly, as if to make sure his original target was still on the ground.

 _No, NO!_ Elsa's mind went into overdrive as she mustered everything she could, loosing a guttural battle cry as she struck out at the man once more. She gasped, however, as her punch immediately caused the man to release her arm and fall to the ground screaming and howling in pain. For a moment, she was stunned, had she been that strong all along? The smell of something unfamiliar filled her nostrils, and it didn't take her long to realize that the smell was too intertwined with fish and beer to _not_ be coming from the man.

His face was bleeding profusely as he whimpered on the ground, curled in on himself like a defenseless child. Confused, Elsa looked down at her hand, wondering if perhaps her nails had done some damage, and she nearly retched at the sight. Her arm had been replaced by something otherworldly - from her elbow down she was covered in silvery white fur, her fingers now tipped in claws, at the end of which was a swath of skin no doubt missing from the attacker's face.

"What the fuck, what the fuck, what the FUCK?" Elsa whispered to herself, shaking her arm and willing away the image that seemed burned into her memory.

Even the woman on the ground began backing away as quickly as she could from both the man and from her rescuer. Her eyes were wide with fear, but Elsa could feel that it was now directed at her as well as at the now helpless man on the ground.

"I-I'm not, I don't know what this is. I can't..."

The eyes of the rescued woman were burning into her as she stood bewildered by the sudden shift in her own body. The sound of sirens met her ears and her fear intensified, when the lights could be seen approaching around the corner Elsa did the only thing she could - she ran. Ran away from Tiana, who was no doubt worried for her safety, ran away from the scene where she had become a hero, away from everything that she knew and straight into the jaws of the unknown.

 _Present Day_

"Lovely night for a walk, eh Wolf?"

"West. _West_. Make me correct you again and you won't be alive to slip up. Got it, kid?"

"Y-yes Miss West. I mean ma'am. Yes ma'am."

"Stop the blithering, Olaf. Either take me to the scene and make this worth my time or let me go home."

"R-right. This way."

Elsa had to squint her eyes to protect them from the brightness of the blue flashing lights as they crossed the line of police blocking off what appeared to be an apartment building. The inside hall looked relatively plain, making her question why she had accepted Olaf's call at all. But the crime scene description had sounded too familiar over the phone, and so she felt an irksome need to look into things. Crossing under the tape that marked the threshold of the scene didn't immediately set of any sirens in her mind as she had hoped, but it did cause her to curl her lip back in mild disgust.

"Ugh, the smell." she hissed, pulling out a black handkerchief and holding it over her nose, "You could have warned me you know, you punk."

"I..." Olaf hesitated, nervously wringing his hat in his hands, "I didn't realize it would be so bad for you. I couldn't smell anything until I was right on the body..."

Elsa gruffly muttered something like a sound indicating her acceptance of his statement, but didn't speak further. Her eyes shifted across the scene, the first thing that she noted was how wide of an area seemed to be affected. Blood somehow seeped down the staircase from the upper floor in a few thin trails and had nearly reached the bottom before coagulating. Clearly someone had manipulated the scene to look particularly horrendous, and in leaving the remarkably undisturbed door wide open they had drawn the desired attention to the crime held within.

"You checked the rest of the house? Dusted for prints of all sorts and took evidence already?" Elsa's voice was muffled by the handkerchief, but Olaf still seemed to understand.

"Of course. Nothing is disturbed down here, just upstairs."

"Then up we go."

Carefully Elsa sidled along the bloodless sides of the stairs, refraining from using the handrails just in case the police decided to dust for prints again. The stink of blood worsened, much to her dismay, as she climbed step after careful step toward the scene. When she finally arrived at the summit of the stairs, Elsa wiped the condensation from her face and grimaced as she put away the handkerchief. The smell was very nearly unbearable, but the cloth would only be in the way.

The body was that of a young woman in her mid twenties, Elsa mused, with lengthy hair that was a strange bright red color. For a moment Elsa felt a strange emotion grip her, tightening her chest, but it faded as she it dawned on her that the color was clearly from a bottle. It was odd, Elsa noted after her heart had slowed, that there didn't appear to be a trail of blood from the body to the stairs. Almost as if someone had gathered the blood from the girl and transported it themselves. An odd trademark for a murderer, to be sure.

"D-did you see the...the gouges?"

Elsa had heard Olaf's clumsy footsteps following her painfully slowly up the stairs and she wished that he had taken just a little longer so that she could look on without his inane questioning. "I'm looking at them." she replied, her voice sounding almost pained as she crouched lower to more carefully investigate the severity of the wounds.

"At first we thought a knife, or a sword or something, but-"

"But the wounds are too irregular and too well placed for a knife fight. Even if they were post mortem, which they don't appear to be, a knife couldn't do this. This was all claws."

"C-claws? You can't be serious...like a bear?"

She scoffed at the comment, never taking her eyes off the all too familiar patterning on the stomach and midsection of the body, "Sure, let's go with a bear. A very careful bear that didn't disturb anything and somehow had the sense of mind to leave a clear sign of a crime so that someone would find her while she was fresh." _While the wounds were fresh. While their source would be clear to anyone who knew his methods._

Olaf stood back a ways from the body, almost as though he wasn't ready to see her again after having already seen so much in his previous investigation. Elsa scanned the rest of the young woman and, finding nothing else out of place, she rose back to a standing position and began looking about the hallway. Without the presence of a body, one would never expect that a crime had even been committed. There were no scuff marks on the floor, no sideways wall hangings or gouges in the walls, nothing to indicate the type of mortal struggle that happened here.

"None of your goons cleaned anything up? No glass on the floor or things out of place that were moved?"

"Nothing. Frankly that's why I called you, well, that and-"

"I know why you called, Olaf. It's clear to both of us that this is the work of the same guy, but couldn't you have gotten to me through the agency instead of on my personal line? I know that in your mind things are happy and wonderful, but the presence of someone who doesn't _technically_ exist at a crime scene like this could be disastrous."

"I know, I know. I'm sorry, I just didn't know where else to turn. Things are always so slow with them. Who better to identify something like this than someone who, well, who knows?"

She knew he was right, but she greeted his question with steely silence. It was all very odd, this scene. Nothing out of place, not even blood spatter on the walls, and yet it was clear that she had been killed on the scene. And those marks... Elsa shook the thought, pulling out a camera and snapping a few photographs of the scene.

"Let me know what you find out when you get DNA results from the blood on the stairs."

"West? West, where are you going?"

"I need some time to think on this one."

"West! Wait for me!"

But Elsa didn't. She made her way down the stairs far more quickly than she had ascended them and crossed back under the police tape. Lights were still flashing outside, and as she crossed back out of their blockade she made sure to steer clear of their vehicles. Cops always made her anxious, and given the situation she hoped Olaf wouldn't take her swift exit too personally.

XXX

Anna Fields had never imagined that she would be on the side of the table that she sat on. Never did she assume she would be waiting anxiously to be interrogated about something so brutal and awful as what she had seen, or that she would ever be a suspect in such an act. Protesting? Sure. Trespassing on government property? Why not. But that was where things stood now, her world had been turned entirely upside down in a matter of moments.

The floors were dirty, the lights flickering, and the hard wooden stool she sat in wasn't quite flush with the floor, resulting in a gentle rocking that she had to control by either leaning forward or backward to the point of being uncomfortable. It was just like they made it seem on television, she was being put into a bad position before the officer was even in the room, and she wanted nothing more than to get out of this place and get home.

She nearly jumped from her skin as the door slammed open, she stared openly as a man of short stature with scant hair and a nose unlike anything she had ever seen sauntered in like he owned the place. Though he was dressed in his police uniform, something about him was off. Anna felt a tingle shoot up her spine, causing her to straighten up in her chair.

"Listen Mr...?"

"Wesselton."

"Mr. Wesselton, I don't really know what happened, or how, but I can assure you that I had nothing to do with-"

"Miss Fields, if you would please comply with my requests then I can assure _you_ that we will both get to move on with our nights much more quickly."

Despite the seriousness of the situation, the man was smiling in a way that made Anna squirm uncomfortably in her chair. Anna clenched her hands together in front of her stomach, shutting her eyes and exhaling. There wasn't any way around an interrogation and she had known that from the start, but it had been worth a try. "I really don't know what happened. I was heading home and I noticed ten's door open and..."

Her voice shook as the images threatened to flood her mind again, but she pushed them back as best as she could. She crossed her arms over her lap, pressing down to keep her legs from shaking up and down nervously.

"And then what?

"And I went to check it out, obviously. I called out to see if anyone would respond, and when no one did I went up the stairs and found her...that's when I called the police."

"You said 'ten' before. What did you mean by that? Was that some sort of nickname shared between you and the victim?"

"N-no. It was the apartment number."

Wesselton began pacing, holding his arms behind his back. "So you wouldn't say that you were close with 'ten' then? Never visited her before?"

"No, not at all. I hardly know any of my neighbors. What are you trying to say?"

"Just trying to rule out the presence of any evidence you may have left on the scene, Miss Fields. If what you're saying is true then you've got absolutely nothing to worry about. Now, what exactly did you touch at the scene, if anything?

"I can't remember, maybe the door and the railing? I definitely didn't touch her! Listen, when can I go home? I have an early shift tomorrow..."

"Certainly Miss Fields, I do thank you for your time and your honesty with me but unfortunately this investigation takes precedence over your little" Wesselton paused and ran a hand through his scant hair sighing heavily, "what is it you do for a living, exactly?"

The question was clearly meant in a derogatory way, meant to remind Anna that she had no authority in the situation whatsoever. "I work at a cafe just a few blocks from my apartment."

"And _after_ work?"

Anna paused this time, knowing that it wouldn't be wise to lie at this point but fearful of what trouble the truth might bring along with it. She wasn't ashamed of the things she did in her spare time, but to have that information floating around for all to see wasn't something she desired either. "I-I do research."

"Research, hm? And for what type of degree are you studying?"

"N-none. I just look into things I'm interested in, for personal reasons. Just, like, a hobby."

"What an interesting choice for a hobby. 'Pseudo-humans.' At least that's what your online postings seem to call them. I guess that means you're into the bogey man and vampires and the like?"

"It's just a hobby." she asserted again, hardening her expression defensively.

"Looks like a little more than just a hobby. You've been posting on your little website for years with theories and images...and you've confirmed you saw the body as well. Quite interesting that the scene would so very closely mirror some theorized injuries you've drawn up and that you, of all the people in that building, would have not only this macabre interest but also be the one to stumble upon the scene and call the police."

"As I said Mr. Wesselton, I had nothing to do with it. I've told you what I did and didn't touch and I've answered all your questions, am I free to go now?"

Wesselton looked on thoughtfully, almost as though he were trying to read further into Anna's expression to see if her words were really truthful. "Innocent until proven guilty, isn't that what they say? I do have just a single follow up question, if you're willing to answer. Did you see or hear anyone or anything suspicious at or near the scene?"

"I was just coming home from work so I had my headphones in, but I didn't see anyone out of place. Just the usual crowd for the hour."

"Very well...you are free to go _for now_ ," he paused for emphasis, pointing two fingers at his own eyes and then back at her in a sort of 'I'm watching you' gesture, "but we may call you back in at a later time for further questioning. I trust it won't be too hard to pull you from your little barista job."

Anna had to wait for the door to be buzzed open again, but the moment it was she shot out of the room, and subsequently the station house, as fast as she could. Whatever made that officer believe that she had anything to do with the scene must have been convincing for him to grill her so hard. As much as she desired her warm bed and her comfortable home, however, she wouldn't make it far from the station before another young officer stopped her.

"I'll need you to come with me, miss."

The man was tall, taller than her by nearly a foot, but his face was soft and far from intimidating. Reddish hair peeked out from beneath a beret type hat, but his eyes and much of his facial expression were shielded by a rather large pair of black sunglasses.

"I've just finished with the police, can I not go home?"

"Anna Fields, if you would please come with me? I would rather not have to take you with me by force."

Anna's eyes narrowed in suspicion. What could this man possibly want with her, and how the hell did he know her name? The cogs in her mind turned as the man's expression, or what she could see of it, seemed to grow impatient. As she tried to reason out just what was going on, he was clenching and releasing his fists at his side as though he were preparing for a fight. Instinctively she whipped around, heart now hammering in her throat as she took off toward the police station again. They may have been suspicious of her for the moment, but it would at least be safe there.

"They always run." The man groaned, taking off after Anna.

But it was no use for her to even try to run, the man easily overtook her and tugged her toward him, clasping a hand over her mouth and nose. Anna tried to scream, but his hand prevented little more than a hum from escaping. She sank her teeth into his fingers, or so she thought, but the fabric was far too thick for her teeth to pierce. She tugged, attempting to disengage his hands, but to no avail. The struggling just made her more, and more light headed until finally her world went black.

When she awoke she was in yet another building. Anna fidgeted, shifting her position in the too soft chair that she had been set in, hoping to alleviate the strain on her eyes from the bright lights in the oddly sterile looking room. As she blinked and her eyes adjusted to the lighting she realized that everything in the room seemed to be white. From the overly plush chair she was in to the glass for the windows, white as far as the eye could see. Was it a psychological tactic to frighten her further, or just a poorly decorated room?

Her stomach tightened more and more the longer she looked, noting that she appeared to be in some sort of office. Everything about this place was unnerving, not to mention strangely silent. The silence was almost the worst part, if she hadn't been aware that she had been kidnapped to be taken here the silence would have definitely been the worst part. Unsettling. Unnatural. Those were the only words that came to mind as she looked around.

There were no bindings holding her to the chair, she seemed free enough to walk around and yet it was clear from her vantage point that they were several stories up and that there was only a single door to the room, which would no doubt be guarded. What could anyone possibly need her this urgently for if they, whoever they were, were willing to kidnap her to get her here?

Anna started as the door to the room opened and the same red-haired man who had stolen her peered inside. She could see now that he had green-ish eyes, and strangely kind features for a kidnapper.

"Oh good, we were getting impatient."

"Look, I don't know what all this is about but you guys have got to let me go. I've got a little money stashed away if that's what you're after." Anna's heart began to race again, she could feel every inch of her skin heating as she tried to appear calm and plot an escape.

The man rolled his eyes, "Nobody wants your money, nobody wants your body either so calm down. Just be patient and you'll get home soon enough, unscathed no doubt."

"Where are your manners, Hans? This little lady deserves the moon on a platter! She could be the answer to all our troubles!"

A brunette man of short stature, dressed plainly in khakis and a light blue polo shirt, pushed his way past the much taller man, now identified as Hans, and smiled warmly at Anna. His hands came together in front of his waist as he rocked back and forth on his heels, almost as if he was excited to see her. His smile seemed to grow wider by the moment.

"Miss Fields, I can't _tell_ you what an honor it is to be standing in your presence. Imagine! Little old me finally coming face to face with _you!_ The biggest star in all of non-human research is sitting right here in my office, who would have believed it?"

The near fan-boy reaction to her presence unnerved Anna all the more and she sank further into the chair. She pulled her knees up to her chest and clutched them, almost as if the action would offer her some kind of protection from this strange situation."Who the hell are you people?"

"Oh, my land! I got so excited I forgot all about introductions. You're just such a dynamite lady, forgive me. You can call me Felix. I run this little organization here, so don't you worry-"

"Listen I don't care what you guys are up to here, I won't even call the police, just let me get out of here."

"But" Felix's eyebrows came together and his eyes softened, his excitement now clearly replaced with some kind of sadness, "we haven't even told you why we need your help!"

"My _help_? You kidnap me and nearly have this big oaf break my neck so I can _help_ you? You're both insane, just _let me go!"_ Anna was shouting now, tears streaming hotly down her cheeks as she shook in the chair. An act, for the most part. She was terrified, certainly, but she wasn't about to let these two get the best of her.

Felix nervously made small gestures with his hands, attempting to calm her. "We really do need your help, ma'am! There's been a string of murders and other crimes, see, and we think it might be the work of some dastardly, well, you call them psuedo-humans and-"

"You're delusional. Pseudo-humans aren't real, they aren't-"

"You saw what was left of that young woman Miss Fields, ma'am," Felix paused to cringe, "you really think a person could do that?"

Anna scoffed, dropping her teary act as she realized it wouldn't be helpful in getting her out of this strange predicament that she found herself in. "Listen, even if they _were_ real, why would I want to help two lunatics who literally stole me off the street?"

"Well, the pay's pretty good." Felix said with a smile, steepling his fingers in front of himself almost excitedly, "A lot better than makin' coffee for ungrateful folks."

"How did you..." But Anna didn't bother finishing the question. It was clear that not only were these people serious about their business, whatever that may be, but also that they were thorough. They must know all about her life at this point, and the mention of pseudo-humans meant that they must know of her online persona as well. "How much do you know about me?"

"Just about everything! There's the simple stuff, then the more juicy tidbits. Particularly about the event that sparked your interest in non-human creatures. Oh, and we know what killed that girl, too."

"Who." Anna corrected nervously, "Don't you mean _who_ killed that girl?"

Felix shook his head in response, a somber expression coming over his face as he did so. "Oh no, ma'am. I didn't misspeak. I said 'what' and I meant 'what.'"

She furrowed her brows, breathing deeply and freeing her legs so that she could get up and pace back and forth in front of the chair. So they were some kind of organization that had something to do with the one thing that had consumed her waking hours since that fateful day...did that mean that she _had_ to help them? Would they even let her leave after revealing so much?

"Don't worry, we won't kill you if you don't want to work with us. Just erase this portion of your memory and then set you loose. Back to slinging coffee and pretending like you aren't a huge nerd for the non-human races."

That had been the first time Hans had spoken since Felix had entered the room, but it was clearly meant in a lighthearted way. Anna wondered how many other people had been recruited into this 'organization,' as Felix had called it, in the same way that she was experiencing now. Had Hans perhaps also been brought in in the same way?

"Tell me" Anna paused, thinking about her question carefully. After all this was her only chance, these people clearly knew things that she had wanted to know for ten years now, things that could push her into a new and viable career dealing with something she had a legitimate interest in. "Tell me what it is you guys do, exactly."

"Take it away, Hans."

Hans stepped forward, now standing at Felix's side. "We are the Society for Non-Human Operations, S.N.O. for short. While most of us are human, we work together with the pseudo-humans, as you call them, for the bettering of mankind."

"What kind of Scooby Doo bullshit is that?" Anna laughed wryly, "So you're telling me that not only do the pseudo-humans actually exist, you're also telling me that you guys are wrangling them up and bribing them to help you solve mysteries?"

"Murders. Rapes. Kidnappings. Mysteries is hardly the word I'd use, but sure. If that's the one your brain wants to use to understand all of this then fine, mysteries it is. That's not _all_ that we do here, but that's the gist of it."

"This is absurd. How could you possibly hide the existence of things like this from the government?"

"The government may not have as wide of a grip on the goings on of the country as you think, Miss Fields." Hans seemed unfazed by the idea that they were operating without governmental regulation.

"How about it, ma'am? Want to join our little organization and help right the wrongs in the world?"

Felix seemed overly happy about the prospect of having her on their side, but Anna still wasn't entirely convinced. "What exactly could you possibly need someone like me for?"

"Precisely what I asked him when he had me recruit you." Hans interjected, "Someone like you with no training, no prospects, no-"

"No fear of the bad things that live among us." Felix cut Hans off, giving him a stern look that a father might give a misbehaving child, "Maybe not _no_ fear, but you've seen one before and you haven't made it to the nuthouse because of it. Means you've got what we refer to it in the business as a black soul."

"A black _soul_?"

"Yes ma'am. Don't take any offense, it just means you don't lose your marbles when you see something you shouldn't. The human mind is a fragile thing, real hard to fix once it's been exposed things it feels shouldn't exist. All those other things Hans speaks of can be taught. You can't turn a soul black."

"This is...this is kind of a lot for one day." Anna sighed, crossing her arms over her chest and glancing between the stoic Hans and the ever-smiling Felix. "I mean, it's a dream come true in one way, but in others it's overwhelming."

"Unfortunately it's the only one you've got. What'll it be, ma'am? A lifetime of serving coffee and researching your passion project, or co-existing with the very creatures you've spent the last ten years of your life searching for?"

 _Now?_ Anna thought, _They drop this bomb of information on me and want an answer right now?_ It was her best bet to say no, safety was assured in her previous life after all. She lived in a fairly well guarded apartment complex... _No, if it were well guarded there wouldn't have been a murder there_. Though she tried to hide her confusion, she was certain that it was written all over her face. But truthfully, what other option did she have besides the obvious one?

"Okay. I'll do it."

Felix and Hans shared a knowing smile, one that made Anna struggle not to quiver on the spot.

"Now, the first thing you'll have to learn is that we here in the business typically just call them non-humans..."

 _What have I gotten myself into?_

 ** _A/N: Hey all, glad to be back! This story will be quite different from my last one, so I hope you enjoy it just as much. This should be posted once a month, maybe once a month and a half if I get busy. I will be working on another, more lighthearted story simultaneously if that's more your speed._**


	2. Breath

Chapter Two: Breath

Over the course of a few hours, Anna had read and signed a contractual agreement with S.N.O., stating that she agreed to the training regimen (which on paper appeared to be simple enough), as well as that she would be responsible for her own safety in the event that a mission went south. Her pay was more than twenty times what she would have made as a barista, and though vacations were a non-existent thing Anna was certain that she could throw herself into her work given that she would be doing something she truly was interested in.

It would be dangerous work, they assured her, but they also informed her that she would be appropriately trained and equipped for any job that she was sent on. There was also a chance, if she proved skilled enough, that she could end up working in their medical wing where real research was done involving the non-human species that they had knowledge of – the very idea was more than enough incentive to get Anna on board.

Felix shook her hand so many times that she had lost count and Hans had nodded his head in acceptance of her agreement to join them, but Anna was still a little apprehensive about all this. On paper it seemed simple enough. She would essentially be a detective, of sorts, and yet there were so many questions that went unanswered.

As she signed the last page there was a quiet rapping at the door, to which Felix gleefully squealed, "Come on in!"

The door opened to reveal a pair of agents, at least Anna assumed they were. One was a man, nearly the same height as Hans with soft blond hair and warm brown eyes, like sweet chocolate.. He was dressed pretty plainly from what she could tell, but he seemed far more at ease than his counterpart. The woman that stood next to him seemed frigid, not at all matching the friendly air that her partner gave off. Her hair, though also blonde, was much lighter - near white. Her eyes were an unnerving, soul piercing blue. For whatever reason, she took one look at Anna and then proceeded to glare hard at Felix, who only shrugged casually.

"Agents Bjorgman and West, they'll be teaching you the ropes and making sure that you are capable of handling the things you'll need to for missions."

"You must be Miss Fields. I guess it's Agent Fields now, huh?" Agent Bjorgman stepped forward and, with a smile that could rival Felix's, he offered his hand. Anna shook it, but dropped it quickly when Agent West stepped forward. She extended her hand to Agent West, who merely glanced down and raised an eyebrow.

"She's not an Agent yet, Bjorgman. She'll have to survive the training first."

Before Anna had a chance to combat Agent West's rude remark with a snarky one of her own, Felix stepped in to cool off the situation. "Now, now. Save the fire for later you two! Let's get Miss Fields settled into the pod with you two, huh?"

"Settled? I don't have any of my things. I'll have to go back to my-"

"You won't, it's all been handled. Come with us."

And with those few curt sentences Agent West turned and quickly exited the room. Anna looked at Agent Bjorgman, almost astounded at the rudeness of the other agent, but Bjorgman merely stood there, smiling and holding the door open for Anna to walk through and follow behind Agent West.

"Kristoff." Agent Bjorgman said as he hurried to catch up to Anna.

"Huh?"

"Kristoff. That's my name."

"Oh." Anna could have kicked herself for not figuring that out as soon as he had said it, but she was busy studying the hallways as they walked down them. The white had not only been present in the room, but extended to the halls as well. And strangely their words didn't seem to echo despite the length of the halls. "Anna. Anna Fields."

"It's nice to meet you. I think you'll be a valuable addition to our team."

"So we work in teams then?" She asked, finally actually looking at Kristoff. He looked just as gentle as he sounded, which was a relief given the current behavior of his counterpart.

"Sometimes. By 'teams' I guess I just mean our living situation. It'll be nice to have a new face around."

Anna hesitated, "So you're both um, human?"

Kristoff rubbed the back of his head, sighing, "Ah, well, that's kind of a rude question here. Not that you would have known! Anyway, it's best we discuss all of that after you get into your training."

"I'm so sorry! I didn't really even think, it just came out. I didn't mean anything-"

"Would you two shut up already?" Agent West called from ahead of them. "We've got a long walk and if you keep blathering on I might have to kill one of you to quiet things down."

Anna glanced over at Kristoff who was grinning at her and motioning for them to walk more quickly. How was it that such a big guy could answer to this strange woman she wondered. Agent West did give off a 'commanding' type of air, but Anna wondered if there truly was a reason for the seemingly quick submission of Kristoff. Had Agent West been with S.N.O. for a longer period of time? Was one of them not human and there was some sort of hierarchy that agents were expected to respect?

"I know you must have a lot of questions, newbies always do. I promise, they'll all be answered in time."

But 'in time' seemed to have been forgotten the moment the small group had exited the main building and crossed a large field to arrive at their living pod. It was far beyond what Anna had expected. Perhaps her mind had made this into a military-esque situation where they'd be living in barracks and eating terrible meals but before her was a sprawling building labeled 'L' which proved their home would be anything but a barracks.

The inside of the house was relatively plain, but massive nonetheless. There were no grand chandeliers or crystalline pillars, though the tile flooring and well equipped living area spoke of a costly upgrade to an otherwise standard room. A few large, plush couches, an enormous television with a few game consoles that looked far newer than anything Anna had seen in recent times - it was like walking in to a college dormitory, only much fancier.

"West and I like things a little nicer than most, and we-" Kristoff paused, appearing to wait and see if West had a remark to make. When none came, he seemed to breathe a sigh of relief and continued, "-are more than happy to share until you start raking in the big money."

"The big money." Anna was almost breathless as she looked around, there were plenty of doors leading off the main room, and even an adjoining kitchen. It would take her a while to adjust to such a wide layout. "So where am I bunking?"

"You'll have your own room of course, we all do. The room to the right, just past the television, is free. The one in the center of the wall there is West's, and _mine_ is right next to the kitchen." Kristoff waggled his eyebrows suggestively, but quickly laughed it off. Anna could only assume that he had been messing with her.

"As your contract stated you are obligated to comply with regular interviews during your training." Agent West called from across the room. She was standing with her back to them and her hand on the door handle to her room but her voice was as clear as if she were standing right next to them, "We will keep detailed logs of your responses to the questions and notes on your performance and whether or not we believe that you are suited to this work. You will rise at five tomorrow morning and your training will begin with Agent Bjorgman. Get some sleep, you'll need it."

It was an implied order to retreat to her room, but Anna purposefully waited until Agent West's door was shut before she laughed, "Is she always that jovial?"

"West is...a complicated person." Kristoff admitted, though despite the tone of the words he still smiled when speaking of her. "But she is right, so get to bed and rest up. Just because I'm nicer than she is now doesn't mean I'll go easy on you during the training."

Kristoff threw up a single hand and waved as he walked away from her and toward his own bedroom. There was so much to explore, so much to see, but if Anna had any hope of staying here and not returning to her humdrum life with no memory of any of this she had to successfully complete the training. She was hardly in bed for a moment before sleep took her.

Five in the morning came sooner than expected, though by some miracle Anna was able to get herself together and make it on time. The training room turned out to be a large room set behind the kitchen with an assortment of vaguely familiar gym equipment surrounded by a track ring for jogging. She opened her mouth, prepared to ask what they would begin the day with, but Kristoff was quicker to the draw.

"Let's get started with laps!"

Startled, Anna did as she was told, keeping up with the seemingly light pace that Kristoff had already set. "So what's on the agenda?"

"We're going to run until you can't anymore!"

Anna chuckled between pants, accepting that Kristoff was both cheery and full of jokes this early in the morning. But as they ran lap after lap she realized that he may not have been joking after all.

"Seriously? Another?" She struggled to get the words out. Her muscles burned and her feet ached, begging her to stop with each new step.

"Run until you can't, remember?"

Kristoff half turned his head to smile and wink at her. The fluidity and ease with which he was able to do that and then continue running while she was wheezing and struggling to get air into her lungs made her realize that he had barely broken a sweat. _He can't be human, he just can't_.

"No more, I can't!" Anna gasped, leaning forward and placing her hands on her knees as she tried not to vomit from the exertion.

After finishing his lap Kristoff began to jog in place at Anna's side, smiling all the while, "That wasn't even a full mile, are you sure you're up to this? What did you do before? In the real world I mean?"

"I served coffee-"

Kristoff interrupted her with a snort, "I don't say this often but West might be right, you might not survive this."

The mention of Agent West brought a fire to Anna's belly and she straightened up in an instant, glaring at Kristoff. "What's her problem anyway? She's so intense, is she always like that?"

"Tell you what, keep running and I'll tell you."

Another wink and Kristoff was off running again. Anna groaned miserably in response, but pushed her already aching legs and lungs to continue in spite of the pain. "Better dish before I die."

"You haven't earned it yet! Finish your mile, then do another one, and then we'll talk."

Anna called out in anguish, but a combination of her curiosity and her slowly growing desire to prove Agent West wrong pushed her through the last of her run. When after what felt like an eternity she had finished her punishing trial and fell to the ground to the delight of her screaming lungs and burning legs. "Okay...tell me..."

"Fine, fine. You earned it. Yes."

"Yes?"

"You asked if she was always that intense, your answer is yes. I like to think of her as being on the bright side of hellbent. About what...I couldn't really say." He paused to thoughtfully smile at Anna, "She gets easier to talk to the longer you work with her, and the more useful you prove to be."

"I ran, _two miles_ for you to tell me yes and give me a half-assed explanation? No way, I deserve _something_ more for that."

"Why are you so interested in her, anyway?" Kristoff leaned down, a single brow arched as he stared at her in what felt like the most judgmental way he might be able to.

Anna scoffed, shaking her head and rolling her shoulders in an exaggerated shrug, fighting hard against a blush that for some reason felt as though it might creep onto her cheeks. "Why shouldn't I be? I'll be working with her, right? Wouldn't it be best if we got along? She's acting like I've done something horrible to her and we've only just met!"

"Focus on getting along with me first, Anna." Kristoff laughed, reaching his arms above his head and stretching his back, "It'll be much easier for you if you do."

"Is this some weirdly pathetic attempt at flirting with me? Because I don't typically go for people who make me run..."

"Trust me, you'll be better off this way. Come on, sit ups are next!"

XXX

The hour was late and Elsa was comfortably tucked in to 'her' corner of the couch in the living area, clutching a rather thick notebook and jotting down thoughts in the margins. Her much needed solitude was interrupted by the pleased, but weak, cheering of their new ward and Kristoff. It was difficult to tune out their noise, and even more difficult to ignore the stink of sweat that accompanied them into the shared area. She could only be thankful that Kristoff seemed to have corralled Ms. Fields into her room for a shower before Elsa had to evacuate the area entirely.

"'Status report?'" Kristoff asked himself, in a mock stern tone that was clearly meant to mimic Elsa, "Not too bad, she's kind of a weakling but she's got nerve. I think she'll do well if we keep on her." he responded to himself, in his normal voice.

Clearly he was looking for some sort of praise, but Elsa merely glanced at him over the edge of her book before re-immersing herself. Kristoff, as usual, took this as an opening to incessantly babble about the happenings of the day.

"She almost blew chunks after I made her do pull ups, you would have been proud. She seemed to be pretty interested in the ever _mysterious_ Agent West. Maybe you should start talking to our recruit rather than just-" Kristoff stopped and put his hands up in defeat as Elsa's brows knitted together over top of her notebook, "Sorry, sorry! I just hope you haven't started to get an attitude with everyone with her particular, ah, traits... Anyway, I think if she keeps it up she could be a valuable addition to our already great team!"

"Great team." Elsa scoffed, "You mean I pull your weight and my own on any given mission and we somehow end up splitting the credit?"

Kristoff laughed heartily, "Don't be mad, you know you like me."

Before Elsa could even respond Kristoff had taken off, singing some little tune and plugging his ears. As childish as he was, he was indeed quite helpful on their missions. She hardly ever had to utilize her powers during missions where she was paired with Kristoff and that alone had been a real weight lifted off of her shoulders. So, he couldn't be called entirely useless. He was smarter than she cared to give him credit for, too, but she would never vocalize that to him lest she have to listen to him prattle on about how awesome he was.

The door to Ms. Fields room swung open again and the woman came out draped in pajamas clearly brought in from her home, they were a gentle baby blue and patterned with sunflowers. The issued sleeping clothes were far from what one would call 'pretty' but they suited Elsa just fine for their intended purpose. Seeing Ms. Fields in something so personal irked her, though she couldn't quite say why.

"Man, I feel like jello after all that Kris put me through today. I can't imagine that I'll do any better tomorrow knowing what I feel like today."

 _Kris._ Elsa thought to herself, _Typical of him to be overly friendly on the first day. Can't resist a pretty face._ She didn't bother responding, she merely continued to scan the lines of her notes. Elsa began to wonder to herself if Ms. Fields would turn out to be a talker like Kristoff. She didn't have to think long on that, however, as her answer would come in the form of what she could only assume would be a long winded discussion.

"You know, I had no idea that I was capable of doing all that stuff though. I just figured that you stop when you feel like you can't do any more. But I learned that if you keep pushing past that, what could you call it? A wall I guess? Anyway if you push on past that wall you get this satisfying feeling of-"

Elsa rose from her place on the couch in a fluid motion, nose still buried in her notebook, and began to head to her room, causing Anna to change the course of her topic for discussion.

"Look, did I do something to upset you? We've hardly spoken, but I feel like you've had it out for me since the second we met."

The question brought Elsa to a halt and, once she reached the end of her line, she shut her book and turned to the sunflower clad woman. The look she gave was a shrewd one, painfully slowly she dragged her eyes from Ms. Fields' bare feet all the way up her body to the two braids she had put her wet hair up in. She was young with a fire in her eyes and no doubt a hunger in her belly to prove herself to not only Kristoff, but Elsa as well. Unfortunately, Elsa wasn't in the market to bring another person into the fold of her secretive life.

"As I said, you'll have to survive your training to be an agent. It'll be hard for me to take you seriously until that happens. Good night."

And with that, Elsa withdrew calmly to her room in spite of the clear sounds of distress coming from an obviously offended Ms. Fields. As her door shut, though, Elsa found herself leaning against it and wondering why she hadn't let Kristoff finish his little recap, or why she hadn't gotten the information from Ms. Fields herself while she had her there. Elsa pulled out her phone and text Kristoff a reminder 'Don't forget to make notes about her training and her progress daily, and don't forget to upload them either so I can keep track of things.'

Over the next few days, and the weeks they melted into, Elsa kept meticulous track of the progress that Ms. Fields was making. It seemed that she was following a path similar to most new recruits, which was to struggle through the first few days before they built up a tolerance for the pain their bodies were being put through, and then improving painfully slowly from there. The results weren't exactly promising, but Elsa hadn't been visually observing any of Ms. Fields' training either so it was difficult to tell.

While further information was gathered for the murder scene she had visited, Elsa had taken a few small assignments during the majority of the weeks that passed, small capture missions that thankfully kept her far enough from their home to prevent too much obligatory small talk with either Kristoff or Ms. Fields. But the inevitable was here now, Kristoff had accepted a mission and she would have no choice but to conduct not only training, but an interview as well.

XXX

The first few weeks were the hardest, at least that's what Kris had told her. But the weeks dragged on and Anna was struggling to make physical progress just as hard as she was struggling to reach some kind of friendly ground with West. The woman was like a wall, and Kris was hardly any help. He refused to give up any nuggets of information on her at all, no matter how Anna begged and pleaded.

There were no words of encouragement from West, and her training was grueling - far more difficult than anything Anna had experienced up until this point. More than once Anna showed signs of nearing a state of physical illness, but to the surprise of both parties she had managed to get herself back under control.

"So what is it you do exactly?" It was an attempt at casual conversation, but one that West easily brushed off.

"The same thing Agent Bjorgman does."

"I noticed you hadn't been at dinner there for a while. Were you uh, on a mission or something?"

"That information is classified."

Growing frustrated, Anna huffed and wiped sweat from her brow. "Kris tells me about his missions, and he trains _with_ me instead of just standing off to the sidelines taking notes."

Agent West, who until this time had been jotting down quick notes on a small notepad visibly stopped her note taking and peered at Anna with a curious expression, one that wasn't easy to place. "Are you suggesting that you cannot perform the tasks given to you without a partner?"

" _No_." Anna scoffed, crossing her arms over her chest, "Just wondering what kind of trainer can give orders without doing the same thing!"

A bold statement if ever there was one. Anna nursed a bottle of water in the silence that followed, but it was short lived. West sighed, visibly rolling her eyes and letting her shoulders slump as she slipped off her jacket. She was more muscular than Anna had realized. Until this point she hadn't seen West in anything but long sleeves, but Anna's chance to observe West was short lived.

"Five miles, now." West barked, starting without Anna.

"But we're still on break! And Kris and I only ever-"

But the words were too late, she had clearly irritated West. Anna whined, but began running her laps all the same. It was a punishment, at least that's how it felt. A punishment for crossing some unspoken line. West had hardly broken a sweat three miles in, while Anna struggled to breathe and had to break from a jog into a walk more than once.

It became quite clear when West stepped off the track, having completed her five miles already, that she was on an entirely different level and Anna, and perhaps even Kristoff. But even worse and perhaps more punishing than the training was the interview, and subsequent analysis, of Anna's performance that followed.

"Ms. Fields."

West's voice came suddenly, following a long silence that she had used to type up her notes, and the sound jarred Anna enough that she jumped slightly. Her lip curled up as she rolled her eyes, looking very much like an adolescent. "You're a lot less nice than Kris is. Which question are we on?"

"Your current level of comfort in your provided domicile."

The questions were so routine, nearly the same every interview and Anna's answers were nearly always the same. Kris was much kinder and much more understanding when their conversations derailed, he had even let slip a few details about missions that they had been on! But West? She truly was a wall. A cold, unfeeling wall that probed into Anna's mental state and took far too many notes for her liking.

"It's fine, I'm comfortable." Anna nearly audibly groaned as she watched West's fingers flying over keys in a flurry once more, "What are you writing? I just said I was comfortable, what else could you possibly need to write?"

Without missing a single keystroke, West lifted her eyes to meet Anna's furious gaze before returning to the small screen before her. The mere action caused Anna's skin to feel as though it were on fire, the anger and frustration that she had been holding back in the previous weeks of training had begun to bubble just beneath the surface. The answer nearly caused Anna to lose it.

"I am aware that Agent Bjorgman is less _thorough_ in his interviews. If I must perform this duty then I will do it correctly."

"Must?" Anna shoved herself into a standing position and sent the small chair she had been in toppling to the floor. " _Must_? You're treating me like I'm some inconvenience that has been thrown into your lap, but aren't you getting paid good money to be here? To train me? And today is the _first_ time you've bothered to train me at all! You're supposedly the best person to train with, that's what Kris says anyway, but let me tell you something miss...miss _ice_ queen! If you don't want to bother with me then that's absolutely _fine._ I'd love it if Kris did this on his own. Anything to keep you from looming around, looking down on me like I don't belong here."

That seemed to strike a nerve, for Anna saw at least one eyebrow twitch in the aftermath of her impromptu speech. Even the incessant tacking sounds of Agent West's typing had ceased. Anna assumed she had won until she saw that a small, twisted smile had turned the right side of West's mouth upward. It was the first sign of any positive emotion that Anna had seen out of her since the first day they had met, yet it made Anna feel uneasy. West finished typing out a sentence before closing the laptop and standing, holding it in one hand as she turned away.

"Ms. Fields, thank you for your complaint. I will process it accordingly, right after I complete my own report on your performance today. Enjoy your evening."

Wordlessly she watched as West left the room, her hands clenched in tight fists. For half a moment she considered running after West to continue the fight. In the end, she decided that it would only cause further irritation for herself. It seemed as though West had not been affected at all by the confrontation, something that only made Anna even angrier. How could one person be so infuriating?

It wasn't enough that Anna had to hear about her in tiny snippets from Kris rather than building an actual connection with her, now West had the audacity to act like Anna was an inconvenience? And what the hell did she mean by 'processing' Anna's complaint? Growling in frustration, Anna stormed off to her room for a shower and afterward violently ripped the page off of her daily calendar so that she could focus on the knowledge that Kris would be back tomorrow.

As she lay in bed, reviewing the fight, the last words that West had spoken echoed again and again in her mind. West would have written a status report on her right after that confrontation. The realization was enough to cause Anna to roll over and scream into her pillow. She could very well have just had her last day of training. But, much to her surprise, the weeks to come would play out much like the previous ones had – with Kris training her and West playing the recluse.

 _ **a/n: Sorry this one is a little late, I didn't realize it had already been a month since the first chapter went up!**_


	3. Cold, Cold Heart

Chapter Three: Cold, Cold Heart

It had been weeks since the interview that West had conducted with her, but Anna was still on edge. Agent West hadn't trained with her a single time since then and Kris wouldn't speak a word about what he thought West might do about their spat. In fact he told her annoyingly little about what her fate might be if a poor report were turned in, making Anna all the more anxious about today.

"It's just an evaluation of your overall performance, don't get your panties in a bundle."

"Easy for you to say, you've _got_ a job already." Anna was irritated, but she needed his help. She took a moment to calm down and softened her tone, "So what happens? Do I need to go to them or-"

But Anna's inquiry would be answered before it had even been fully spoken. A small mechanism above the television flashed brightly before projecting an image of the ever-smiling Felix into their living area. Unnerved by the floating torso and head of Felix, Anna squirmed on the couch uncomfortably. Presumably this was a new technology being used in S.N.O., Anna hadn't seen anything quite like it before.

"Well hello you two. I see our Agent West hasn't made it back yet. No problem though, I can issue the results of our report to you two." Felix paused and phantom papers could be seen as he shuffled through them, clearly looking for a specific page. "Now most of our reports are pretty positive! Agent Bjorgman here has plenty of notes indicating upward trends in physical performance and mental fitness, but there _is_ one teeny tiny little thing I wanted to address..."

She stiffened on the couch as the memory of her spat with West crept back into her mind. Surely West wouldn't have given a biased report just because of that, would she? Anna had done all the laps, done all the exercising, all without throwing up or complaining. There was no way that West would be so cruel as to cut short a budding career over a single disagreement.

Anna couldn't help herself, "Listen Felix if this is about-"

Felix made a series of little staccato sounds to stop Anna from speaking any further, and like a scolded animal she fell into silence again.

"It seems that Agent West has input a report that seems, well...out of line with the remainder of the reports that I have received, including those submitted by Agent Bjorgman after her report. Negative attitude, reacts poorly to overly challenging situations, easily flustered..." Felix paused to drop his papers back to his desk with a frustrated chuckle, still smiling despite the clear strain and irritation on his face, "I couldn't just _ignore_ her, her opinion is incredibly valuable to us. I can assure you that I will certainly be having a talk with her about it. I'm afraid that for now I'll have to put a pin in the issue of your status as an agent. I need to know what Agent West really feels, she is a tough nut to crack after all. Isn't that right Agent Borgman?"

Kris laughed as Felix signed off, but Anna began to fume the moment his projection disappeared. "How can she have said that about me? She made me do all this exercise and then tacked on a five mile jog at the end? How am I supposed to survive that and not be a little testy afterward? Where the hell is she? I'm confronting her about this _right_ _now_."

"Calm down, firecracker. She was sent out on an emergency assignment late last night, even Felix said that she hadn't made it back yet, weren't you listening?"

"Well when is she going to _be_ back? If she wants a poor attitude I'll be _more_ than happy to give her one."

"Lunch time maybe?"

Lunch came and went with Anna's ire ebbing the longer she waited for West to return. By dinner she had calmed down almost entirely, but retained just enough anger to prepare herself for the eventual interaction with West. As the minutes continued to creep by and Kris stuffed his face, she began to wonder exactly what could be taking West so long to return. Anna had hardly touched her plate, what she did eat she ate in a more violent manner than necessary. Kris finished in a hurry and was preparing to get up when Anna finally cracked.

"What, she's too good to come eat with us?" Anna spat the words before shoving a piece of bread into her mouth, glaring at the empty place setting at the table. She swallowed, "Don't tell me the she's avoiding us because she's too delicate to take a verbal scolding?"

Halfway between standing and sitting, Kris slowly lowered himself back into his seat. Judging by how wide his eyes were, Anna guessed that he was unsure of what he should do in the wake of her outburst. Anna watched his throat bob as he swallowed, as though he were preparing himself to handle whatever she might dish out.

His sustained silence in the face of her question only made her more angry, more willing to do and say what it took to get an answer, "Well? Why isn't she here? You said lunch time but it's hours later and she's still not bothered to grace us with her presence."

"Listen, Anna, you don't have clearance to know where she is yet. I have to respect her wishes and keep her work private, since that's what she's asked of me. And..." Kris looked hesitant, but his resolve apparently firmed as he finished his thought, "...you really shouldn't talk about her like you have been lately. She's not a bad person you know."

Whether he meant his words to sound that way or not, Anna found them patronizing. They were only fuel for the embers of rage that were being fanned back up into a vicious flame. "Or what, one of you will eat me? Is that part of the contract too? If I get too out of hand you guys get to split me however you want? For all I know neither of you are human and -"

Kris' fists hit the table and a loud resounding 'bang' echoed in the quiet room, even the plates at West's setting clinked against one another from the force. His eyes smoldered with either hurt or anger, Anna couldn't tell which, as he stared across the table at her. "You're acting like an ass. You shouldn't-"

But loud slam interrupted his words and brought Kris hurtling over the table. In seconds he had put himself between Anna and the front door. It was as if they hadn't just been arguing, he had leaped into action without a second thought. Anna looked on in astonishment as he seemed to be getting into a fighting position, ready to handle some threat, be it real or imagined. She hadn't seen him move like that during any of their training at all, there was something much different about the way that he reacted to a potential threat than what she had imagined the reaction to be. For a second she wavered in her certainty, maybe she wasn't ready to be an agent after all.

"Just me."

The voice that she heard was raspy, but identifiably female. It wasn't until the woman rounded the corner that Anna realized it was West. Anna rolled her eyes and turned back to the table, suddenly very intent on eating the meal that she had nearly ignored up to this point. She couldn't very well take on West immediately after she arrived home. After all, even a witch like her deserved to shower after a mission. The pair whispered behind her, but Anna refused on principle to turn and give them the satisfaction of knowing that she had had any interest in what West had been up to until now.

"Anna, I'll clean up later. I've got to...er..." Kris fumbled his words, but West was quick to give an answer in his stead.

"He'll be with me for a while."

There was something unusual about West's voice, while she had been curt as she always was with Anna, there was some strain in the words as she covered for Kris' slip up. Anna did notice that they were walking a little more slowly than seemed appropriate, and that for whatever reason Kris seemed to glance back at West frequently on the trip to her room. Her suspicions only grew as she processed what was said. West had just gotten back from some unspoken mission and all of a sudden she was inviting Kris back to her room? That didn't seem at all likely given that she rarely saw the two of them together.

Anna sulked for a moment when the door was shut, left alone with her waning anger and her growing curiosity. "Clearance." she spat, rising from her seat and dropping her plate into the sink. "I don't have the fucking _clearance_ to know where someone who is supposed to be training me is? It's not like I'm asking for all the details, just a general idea of what's going on would be fine! This is almost worse than being back at home. At least then I knew what was going to be expected, I didn't have to..."

Anna's monologue ceased the moment she heard a faint groan. She felt her face heat as she heard a second groan, then a sharp intake of breath. There weren't too many things that came to mind that could cause those sounds, and Anna immediately shook her head at the idea. They wouldn't be _together_ so obviously, would they? Something about the sounds turned Anna's stomach, though whether Anna was disgusted or concerned she couldn't decide. Carefully, Anna approached the door, hesitating for only a moment before she pressed her palm and her ear to the surface.

"-it hurts that way. Here, let me." West hissed, sounding much less formal than she did when speaking with Anna.

"Hold still, I just need a second and it'll be over."

Hand over her mouth Anna backed away from the door, her eyes wide in horror. _Shit, are they really fucking?!_ A single shiver shot through her as she made her way back to the kitchen, intending to begin the dishes so the sound might drown out anything else she might hear from the room. Before she could even make much progress, however, Kris exited the room looking a little pale with sweat shining on his brow.

Anna scooted over as he joined her at the sink, and in silence they worked together. At least, they might have if Anna could have controlled herself for more than a moment or two. She still hadn't managed to put aside her anger at West's late appearance, or for her poor report on Anna's progress. And the sounds that she had heard from the room had only exacerbated her confusion and inability to cope with the current situation.

"So, how long have you two been going at it?"

The reaction wasn't at all what Anna expected. Rather than embarrassment, Kris looked irritated with her. His brows were knitted together as he struggled to maintain a relatively neutral expression. Strangely, he never raised his eyes from the sink to look at her.

"You're unbelievable."

Anna winced, he had all but growled the words at her as he scrubbed the same plate that he had been scrubbing for nearly a full minute. "Wait, so, you're _not_ sleeping with her?"

Kris passed her the plate at last, and while Anna rinsed and dried it he gripped the sides of the sink and leaned forward over it. His eyes were closed, she saw, and he looked much more tired than he had just a short while earlier. Certainly this wasn't the face of a satisfied man, but just what did this expression mean?

"Not that it's any of your business, but I'm not even close to being her type. Why are you so interested in what's going on with her anyway? Aren't you still mad over that lackluster report she sent in on you? I thought you were going to give her a piece of your mind?"

Anna scoffed, stacking the now dry plate on the others, "I'm not interested in her or anything to do with her. In fact I think I might hate her. She's stuffy and obnoxious and stupidly rude, especially during interviews. Why would I be interested in anything to do with her?"

"So that must mean you're interested in me then."

"Absolutely _not_!" Anna threw her wet towel at his face and began to walk off. The very nerve of Kris thinking he had any right to assume that she was interested in either of them was enough for her to decide that she was done talking for the night.

"It's okay if you are, you know. You ladies fall so quickly I wouldn't doubt it if you fell for my striking good looks the moment you saw me!" Kris called the words after Anna, who responded with a single finger raised into the air. "Oh real classy! It's not my fault I'm pretty! "

Anna slammed her door shut behind her, never had she been more thankful to be shut away and alone in her entire life. Living with this unusual pair, seeing their faces day in and day out, had finally begun to take an emotional toll on her. Flopping on her bed, Anna screamed loudly into her pillow for what felt like the millionth time since she had arrived here. She would have to confront West tomorrow morning, when she was better prepared.

XXX

Elsa groaned as she lay on her bed, awaiting Kris' return. He had promised to bring her something to eat once Anna had cleared the area but that had been nearly ten minutes ago. Her hand was settled on her side, pale skin resting atop a strips of medical tape holding a beige gauze pads in place over her wound.

As diligent as she always was during side missions, she had been distracted today. Today was the meeting with Felix after all, and she knew the moment that she realized she had sustained a wound that she wouldn't be back in time to verbally speak on her report. She knew it was out of line with the rest of the reports, but how Felix would take that she couldn't guess. He could have doubted her sincerity, or simply labeled it something it wasn't and passed Ms. Fields into being an agent without a second thought. Elsa wished she had asked the moment she got in the door, but her mind was on her pain and preventing Ms. Fields from seeing the blood seeping through her clothing.

Since the appearance of her 'condition' Elsa had learned that scrapes and bruises would heal quickly, and that larger cuts could take a few hours to a night to heal. A wound this deep though... Elsa wiggled, gently pushing herself into a seated position despite the burning pain in her side. It wouldn't be long before the flesh healed, perhaps a day or two, but it was still quite irritating to know that she had been blindsided so easily.

"Sorry it took so long-"

Elsa hungrily snatched the plate that he offered her, her manners thrown out the window as the hunger in her belly guided her actions. Kris hardly seemed to notice, or at least he pretended not to notice, and he continued his little speech as though he hadn't even seen her wolf down an entire roll in two bites.

"She was absolutely ridiculous." He paused, as though the words jogged something in his memory. "Speaking of ridiculous, she actually suggested that she thought we might be hooking up. Can you believe that? As if either of us would ever have to stoop so low. What the hell happened while I was gone? She's been kind of obnoxious since you had to do her training and the interview, and the review with Felix today was disastrous. He wouldn't recommend her, based on your review. He's going to talk to you about it soon I assume. I swear, I've never seen someone so furious."

So Ms. Fields had been given an stay, of sorts. An unusual move, one that Elsa hadn't heard of happening before, but likely one brought on by Felix's knowledge of Elsa's past. He had placed Anna into Elsa's care, knowing what it might do to her.

"I'm just doing my job." Elsa shrugged, licking her fingers and shoving the plate aside. "I'm not here to make friends, so why bother sugar coating things? She didn't handle herself well at all in that interview."

Elsa raised a brow at Kris as he very animatedly rolled his eyes. "No wonder she hates you, that explains so much. I thought maybe she was jealous of you since we're close, or that she wanted to get with you. Clearly she just is irate because _you're_ being ridiculous, as usual."

"Me? Ridiculous? How is it that I'm being ridiculous exactly?" Elsa winced as she tried to leer at him, reigniting the pain in her side.

"You can't keep acting like this is an okay way to be with her. You know that eventually you'll have to be her friend, or at the very least friendly enough with her to work together. S.N.O. clearly wants her here, and they obviously wanted her trained by the best. Whatever this is, you've got to get over it and treat her like a friend, or at the very least a trusted teammate."

"Kris, you don't get it and I don't expect you to. Please just let me handle this the way that I have to, alright? Not connecting with her won't stop me from doing my job. She's not ready yet, and she might not ever be."

Kris wasn't about to let up, however, and he began digging into Elsa again with hardly a second to rest. "So you're never going to chill around her? What if she turns out to be cool?"

"Cool?" Elsa chuckled, dumbfounded, "What are you, a teenager? I can't say that I won't ever relax around her, but as far as I'm concerned the job is clear. Train her and if she makes it as an agent she does, if not she goes home and gets to forget all about this place."

"Whatever you say, Els." Kris hesitated, "This isn't because, well, of how she looks is it? I know she looks similar, but obviously-"

" _Don't._ " Elsa barked, groaning and doubling over in pain from the force of the response, "Don't you dare mention her, no one will ever be her. Especially not someone like that puny, rude, loud mouthed woman."

Kris held his hands up in the air, Elsa assumed by his expression that he had realized the line that he crossed. He took her empty plate, avoiding her angry gaze the whole time. It wasn't until he left and closed her door once more that Elsa relaxed into the pillows piled up behind her. The emotions crept up on her all at once, and in a moment of weakness tears began to pool and fall from her eyes.

From the moment that Elsa had laid eyes upon Anna Fields in the flesh she had been thrown into a constant maelstrom of nightmares and painful memories. Memories that burned at her chest and made her head feel as if it were in a fog. The short report Felix had given her had contained a black and white photo of the woman, a fact Elsa hadn't thought odd at the time. Upon entering his office, however, Elsa realized _exactly_ why it had been done. Red, why did her hair have to be red? Why did she have to be freckled and look so much like...

Elsa pushed the thought aside, feeling anger build in her stomach. The emotion was misplaced, she was sure, but she could not just set it aside. Felix had a detailed record of her past cases, her past partners. He had been there that day and still assigned not only herself, but also Kris to train this girl?

There was a tentative knock at the door that sent Elsa struggling to tug a blanket up over her wound, but as it began to open unbidden she knew that it had to be Kris, not even Fields would be so brazen as to enter her room without permission. She could see part of his face as he peered through the crack he had made in the door, seeming to keep it between himself and her as though perhaps she might throw something at him.

"Get in here, you idiot."

"Listen Els, I'm sorry, so sorry. I'm an ass. I know it's a sore subject and I just...I don't know. I think she can do this. She's strong and she's smart, not terribly well educated on the monster species but honestly what human off the street is? She can learn it all, I know it. You just have to see her for what she is and not, well, what she looks like."

"I can't tell you that it's fine, because it's not. But I forgive you."

Kris appeared visibly relieved, as always his submission to her strength and mood soothed her troubled mind. "So, you going to tell me what happened out there?"

Elsa's hand instinctively moved to her wound, "Some idiot let an experiment escape. Thunder shrike they're calling it. Some kind of strange new hybrid, the guy was going on about how they could produce some kind of 'clean energy' if they got enough of these birds bred appropriately. Apparently they still have some work to do to breed out the kinks with the hunting instincts. This generation acts just like normal shrikes do." Elsa paused, shaking her head and trying not to smirk at the absurdity of it all, "Fun fact – normal shrikes impale their prey on sticks! The thing took one look at me and decided I'd be worthy of a meal. They had me testing their new morph fabric, too. And now they know that it's not nearly as impenetrable as they thought it was."

Kris hesitated, seeming to realize that he had best tread carefully or risk not hearing more of the tale. "Were you...you know, on all fours?"

The question hung in the air for a moment before she nodded, "You know that's the easiest way to hunt down unnatural things..."

"Did you finish the mission at least?"

"Of course, you know I don't come back unless I do. I subdued the damn thing and the men came to get it. I refused medical attention afterwards, I didn't realize how badly I'd been wounded until I was already heading back."

Kris appeared visibly impressed, taking a seat as gingerly as he could manage at the edge of her bed. His arms crossed over his chest, but not before he gently touched one of her knees. "I'll never understand you, if that had been me I'd have brought the thing back to roast for a meal."

"You can't just eat something for punishment, especially something S.N.O has paid good money to develop and study. Besides, everything has it's place. Even if it's place is jamming branches into unsuspecting creatures so that it can eat them." Elsa laughed quietly, but sucked air in through her teeth as she realized the motion caused her pain. More than anything else, she hated being injured. "At least they're trying to improve things for people like me. It's nice knowing every time I change my clothes won't be ripped to shreds."

"Well, I'm glad you're not a West-kebab. Seems like maybe it was a young one if it wasn't able to properly kill you." Kris laughed heartily at his own joke, but Elsa could only roll her eyes.

"And for that we can all be eternally grateful. Could you imagine how quickly you'd be fired if you didn't have me pulling your weight?"

"Sure, sure. Get some sleep, Els." Kris made it all the way to the door of her room again before pausing and turning back to look at her, "And...try to go easier on Anna. She really is improving, she survived your minimal training day after all. I know that wasn't the worst of what you can offer, but at least try to attend some sessions. She's a nice girl."

Once Kris had left her with her thoughts, Elsa began to wonder if she had been behaving as ridiculously as he suggested she was. True, she had been more harsh with Fields than she ever had been with Kris, but was that really such a terrible thing? It was preparing her for the realities of the job, the harshness of the work involved. The organization was vastly different now than it had been once, but the work involved had hardly changed at all. It was dangerous and difficult, not anything meant for someone who couldn't take a little bit of verbal jostling. Surely he could see, at least on some level, that Elsa was preparing Fields for the inevitability of a difficult situation arising?

His suggestion that he might be treating Fields differently because of her appearance stuck out in her mind, making her a little angry at what she perceived as a rather spiteful comment. Could he really see her as that shallow, that single minded in her actions? But the longer the idea remained in her mind, the more a feeling of guilt washed over her. Merida would have hated to see what she had become, despised the rigorous training with little to no interaction. She would have lectured Elsa endlessly if she could have seen the way that she pointedly avoided interaction with Fields.

"I'll try." Elsa whispered to herself.

Even with her realization in mind, sleep was difficult to attain. She lay in bed for what felt like an eternity, tossing and turning. When sleep finally did come Elsa's mind brought forth images that she had pressed to the back into the darkest recesses of her mind. She woke the next morning far after her alarm should have sounded, and drenched in sweat. Elsa leaned up and hissed in pain, apparently a night's rest hadn't been enough for her to fully heal, but she wasn't surprised. She never healed well when her mind was troubled.

 _Eight Years Ago_

Nearly two years ago the men had come, all dressed in black, to the small apartment that Elsa had called home. She cowered like a child at their unsettling and silent approach, fearful of what they might do to her if they were to realize what she was. She recalled that none of them spoke as they broke into her home, nor did they even utter a word of concern as the distinct 'puff' of a dart gun sounded and she slumped to the floor in a panic as the drugs took effect. After that, things were fuzzy. She remembered that they had brought her to her barracks, a single small room almost like a cell. She remembered that they explained her situation, she could either participate in their little program or there would be some sort of consequence. What was a young, impressionable adult to do?

Yet whether out of despair at the loss of her former life, or simply disgust with what she was, Elsa couldn't find a way to feel happy about what should have been a celebration of her salvation. Left to the human world she would have died, that was a certainty in her mind, but here the cost of living was a high price to pay. Training and drills day in and day out, living alone until you were chosen for a team...

Yes, that was the highlight of today. Living alone had at first taken a mental toll on the already unstable Elsa, but as she had time to reflect she began to see the good in it. She had no control of her powers when she came, she was a loose cannon, and so she remained for a long while. It took months of practice before she had been able to grasp some semblance of control over her changes. Now, she was a prodigy among the scant few of her kind that lived here on the compound.

"Ah, the woman of the hour. Which team are you hoping for?"

Hans. He had been brought in only a few months ago, but for some reason she had seen him far more frequently than any other recruits. It was almost as if he went out of his way to stick his nose into her business, to make himself a presence in her life. She suspected that he was human, though she never spent enough time with him to know with any grain of certainty. "I don't care, just so long as I get out of the single barracks."

"Poor, lonely Elsa. You should hear the things that _some_ people say about you. That you've got monstrous claws and fangs, that even your-"

"While I appreciate the sentiment, I've got business to attend to." she lied, turning her back on the red-headed menace and fleeing into the crowd.

And so the night went on, Elsa skillfully managed to avoid all further interaction until finally, _finally_ the choosing began. The silence that stretched across the room was overbearing, and almost more intolerable than the anxiety of waiting to see what sort of people she would be working with for the remainder of the foreseeable future.

She watched a few of the newer recruits go first, and as their numbers thinned a concern began to grow within her – what if she wasn't chosen at all? Would she become an individual agent? Or would she be forced upon a team that had no interest in her at all? It only took a few more rounds of choosing for her to realize that not only would she be left out, but a few others would as well. Surely they couldn't afford to put so many in cells when they could train them instead?

"-as for the rest of you, pair up. You'll comprise the beginnings of new teams. When you've learned sufficient tactics and proven yourselves then we will allow you to bring new members onto your team."

A fate worse than a cell Elsa thought as she looked around, trying to appear calm. Hardly any of the other recruits looked as seasoned as she was, most of them were fairly new faces in the camps and yet they were brought here for the choosing just the same as she was. Was she really that far behind?

"Aye, you and me will be a pair."

Elsa started as someone behind her grabbed her shoulder. She turned and came face to face with a red-headed woman she had only seen once or twice, always far from the training fields. The woman's accent was heavy, but not difficult to understand. Her hair was much more wild up close than Elsa had thought it might have been from a distance, her eyes were blue and yet the color was so different than the color of Elsa's eyes. This woman's eyes were full of excitement and hope, and accented by an array of faint freckles on her cheeks.

"E-excuse me?"

"You're a better option than these lanky looking lads, have a good look around if you don't believe me though."

Caught off guard and flustered, Elsa laughed for the first time in recent memory. The sound was foreign to her ears, almost grating. Instinctively Elsa wanted to look around just in case, but something in the woman's eyes made that urge seem too faint to bother listening to. This woman was calming, in her own way. Calm was something that Elsa hadn't felt in quite some time. "I suppose I should trust you if we're going to be a team."

"Name's Merida. I know who you are, of course."

"What?" Elsa stiffened, both in tone and bodily, as she recalled the horrible things that Hans had begun to spew earlier in the evening. Had rumors about her truly been spread, or was he just being his usual, hateful self?

"Oh, you don't know? I've been watching you since I arrived, you and I are fairly similar after all. Come on, let's get our dorm assignment, I'm ready to get out of the single barracks!"

And just like that, Elsa was being dragged by the hand toward the front of the room. For the first time in a long while, she felt the tingling of excitement in her chest. She wasn't entirely sure who this Merida was, or what _exactly_ she meant by the 'similar' comment, but Elsa found herself at ease in the care of her new companion. Choosing day hadn't been so bad after all.

 _ **a/n: I hope that everyone has had a pleasant holiday season so far, see you all next month!**_


	4. I'll Cover You

Chapter 4: I'll Cover You

"What's wrong with you? You're hardly trying at all!"

Anna glared at Kris as she dropped from the metal bar, "Why bother? I doubt West will have any interest in changing up her report for Felix so what's the point? So I can be buff when they wipe my memory and drop me back off at my old place?"

"So you're just going to give up?"

But Anna didn't have a moment to respond, for as she opened her mouth the door to the training room opened and West walked in. Sauntered in is more like it. She looked nonchalant about the whole thing, but it was clear that she was uncomfortable being in the room while the others were present. Rather than giving Kris an answer, Anna grunted as she jumped back up on the bars above her and began to complete her assigned pull ups.

"Suddenly inspired I see!" Kris whispered as he joined her in her exercises. "Looks like West makes you work a lot harder. Are you _sure_ you don't have a thing for her?"

"I'm going to be an agent." Anna viciously whispered, heaving herself up with urgency. "If only to see the look on her face when she realizes she was wrong."

Anna was confident in her movements, perfectly executing each exercise alongside Kris as the pair ran through a more trying routine than usual. There was no instance where she wanted to vomit, and that in itself felt like success. It was clear to her that she had become stronger, and yet all the while West stood on the sidelines looking quite sour and irritatingly unimpressed.

"Are you going to train with us, West, or stand there and watch while we do the real work?" Anna taunted, feeling especially brave as she continued what she deemed a pristine performance. "You're going to get soft just watching all the time!"

Kris hushed Anna, suddenly looking worried, but it was clear that her desired reaction had been achieved. West pushed herself from the wall and rolled her head from one side to the other before stepping forward and dropping to the ground next to them, positioning herself to do push ups. While Anna could keep pace at first it didn't take West long to challenge her. West put one arm behind her back, lifted one leg and continued her push ups, but when Anna attempted it she nearly collapsed face first into the floor of their training room.

"Nice. Keep trying, you'll get it eventually."

Kris laughed when he spoke, but there was something off about the sound of it. She also noticed that through the rest of their training Kris was stealing a large number of glances at West. It wasn't as if she was jealous, but the behavior was out of character for him. He was always so carefree, even when he was barking orders, but today he seemed preoccupied with something.

It wouldn't be the first time Anna had proven herself weak to her frustrations, and she might not even be here much longer anyway, so she had no shame when she finally asked her question. "Look, what's going on? Something is clearly up."

West calmly looked away from Anna, but Kris was quick to try and cover his strange behavior. "You can always improve your techniques you know. West is one of the best for a reason and she's a great example of-"

Kris sighed almost happily at the sound of his phone ringing loudly with some kind of strange musical tone. The sound was short-lived, but more than enough to disrupt the mood of the room. Anna only caught snippets of his conversation from afar, but he returned quickly enough looking very pleased with himself.

"One of the guys needs back up on a mission, so I'll be heading out immediately. Looks like I'll be tapping out and West will be tapping in for a while." Kris paused and looked rather intently in West's direction. "Might be a good stopping point for physical training today. Why not start teaching her the basics of the creatures we run across? No reason not to get ahead of the ball, huh?"

West looked as though she might retort with some smart remark, but she appeared to begrudgingly comply with Kris' suggestion. It felt odd to not be training at this point in the day, Anna mused as she and West sat in the living room with volumes of thick books and binders organized on the coffee table.

"According to the information Felix gave us you have some knowledge of quite a range of non-human entities, but it's all fairly basic, and a good portion of it is probably wrong. So you'll need to start here at this end of the table and work your way over, I've arranged them from most commonly encountered to least, with never encountered at the far right there."

"Wait, you're just leaving me to read?"

"Were you expecting to simply absorb the information?"

Anna squinted, trying not to betray the fact that she was perturbed by West's smart comment, "I expected you to teach me something at least. I doubt Kris would just-"

"As you can see I'm not Agent Bjorgman-" West growled. But as the words fell from her mouth, her eyes seemed to glaze, almost as though she were remembering something. She then sighed heavily and rolled her eyes, "Fine. I'll be here for you to ask me questions, but you'll be doing wall sits in increasing increments for each stupid question."

"Deal!" Anna was eager. Perhaps too much so, she thought, as she thumbed through the pages of the book at the very top of the pile. "Okay, so werewolves. Do they really do the whole 'change at the full moon' thing or is that a myth? And what happens to their clothes when they change, do they just rip off? Is silver really a weakness?"

"Ten second wall sit."

" _What?_ " Anna whined, "How am I supposed to know all that?"

West smirked triumphantly at Anna, crossing her arms over her chest and leaning back in her seat. "Do your wall sit and I'll answer it."

Anna complied, but was sure to express her displeasure all the while. "This is cruel and unusual punishment you know."

"Werewolves have a variety of mythos associated with them. Moonlight causing changes, weakness to silver..." West paused to laugh as Anna rose from her position against the wall, "Unfortunately for you most of that is false, but there are grains of truth hidden in there. While most werewolves can change at will into a bipedal wolf creature, there are those who are capable to changing portions of themselves rather than their entire body. And even rarer are those who are also capable of taking on a wolf-like form in addition to the 'standard' werewolf form. Silver is a tricky thing for them, some find themselves affected by it and others are unaffected. It does not appear to be associated with the level of transformation that they are able to achieve. As for the clothing, those lucky enough to be working here at S.N.O receive what we call morph suits. They are formulated to shift and blend with the bodies of anyone wearing them as necessary, but otherwise, yes, their clothes would be torn to shreds."

Anna realized in that instant that she should be taking notes rather than just relying on her memory. There would obviously be no shortage of creatures to learn about, so she grabbed a notepad and a pen to scribble down bits and pieces of what West was telling her. It was blowing her mind to hear another person talking so freely about something that she had been researching in secret for so long. "So what about vampires, does that mean that the myths surrounding them aren't true either?"

"Twenty seconds."

"Come on, that was a logical follow up!"

"Twenty. Seconds."

"Fine, but you're doing it with me. You didn't even really get into the training with us, so you could use the workout anyway, right?"

West had a strange expression on her face, sort of far away and confused all at once. Her brows were furrowed slightly and her eyes quite suddenly became glassy again. Anna wasn't sure what was going on, but West eventually spun around and pressed her back against the wall alongside Anna before dropping into a low wall sit.

"What do you want to know about vampires?"

"Well, are they real?"

"Of course they are. Why wouldn't they be?"

"We're doing this ridiculous sit here so I thought maybe they weren't."

"They're quite real, I assure you." West grunted quietly as she pushed herself up the wall when their time was up. "Was that all?"

"Well, garlic? Does that make them weak? What about crosses and holy water?" Once the first few questions were out, Anna couldn't stop herself. The questions were coming up almost faster than she could speak them. "Do they really have to suck blood to survive? Oh, and the sun! Does the sun make them shrivel up or disintegrate? And does-"

West threw her hands up in a sort of 'stop' motion, shaking her head and, if Anna didn't know better she might have thought that West was about to smile at her. She must have been imagining it though, because just as quickly her expression returned to neutral. "How about I tell you what we do know?"

Sheepishly Anna nodded, realizing how silly she must have looked asking so many questions all at once. She couldn't help her excitement, surely West understood that. "That'll work."

"The whole garlic thing is nonsense. Some vampires survive on blood, others on energy or emotions. The ones that need blood can just as easily survive with bagged blood, much more convenient than hunting down a victim and leaving a trail of bodies. Crosses and holy water were just things that the church popularized to give comfort to the superstitious masses, they don't actually have any effect on vampires. They're perfectly capable of walking around in the sun, it's uncomfortable for some but not deadly by any means. They show up in most mirrors, unless the mirrors are incredibly old. Unlike werewolves, _all_ vampires have a confirmed association with silver: a mirror backed with silver won't reflect them. There have been no documented cases of them turning into hoards of bats, either, so don't get your hopes up."

Anna finished her notes and slumped back into the chair. Her eyes were wide and full of excitement, she could have gone on all night with her incessant questions but a feeling of being overwhelmed gripped her tightly. Suddenly this world that she had been positive in her own mind existed was _real._ Really real. All this time she'd been training her body for something that she had been promised, but to have the knowledge right here in front of her, to have some _one_ here in front of her that knew everything she wanted to know...it was more than she could have ever hoped for.

"Okay, so what about-" Anna stopped, staring at what looked to be blood seeping through West's jacket. For a second Anna wondered if she was seeing things, from what she knew West was the best agent around and yet somehow she had managed to be injured? There was no way that she was seeing correctly. "Uh, West?"

"Go on and ask your question, I'm sure you're more than capable of thirty seconds on the wall."

"Well, I mean I'm sure I can do that too but, it's just...I think you're bleeding?"

West's eyes widened as she looked down, wiping the dark spot on her jacket and observing the redness on her fingers. "Shit."

West was off toward her room in a flash and Anna followed without a second though. West almost immediately stripped her jacket off, her shirt followed suit quickly after. Anna flushed with color as she realized that perhaps following without permission might not have been the best idea. It wasn't until West went to remove the bloodied gauze from her body that she gave any sign that she had noticed Anna standing behind her.

"What are you...get out!" West was holding a hand over the now freely bleeding wound as her other hand reached out for a new gauze pad.

Anna nearly complied, but the sight of West was struggling with a bloodied hand to get the wound covered told Anna that she may need help. "You're going to get an infection like that."

"Shut up, Fields. I told you to get out!"

Anna's expression hardened as she stepped forward, now more confident than she had been in any other interaction with West. She snatched the new, but already bloody, gauze from West's hand and defiantly tossed it in the trash. Anna cleaned her hands and grabbed a towel and rubbing alcohol to clean the wound. West made a sound of disapproval, but said nothing more as Anna dabbed the wound and wiped around it, cleaning the area enough to re-bandage it.

Now that she was so close Anna could smell something familiar on West. A comforting smell, but not one that Anna could immediately recall. The smell tantalized her nose but troubled her mind, where had she smelled that smell before? Anna gently pressed the tape along the outside of West's wound, feeling the tightness of the muscles beneath her fingertips. The feeling made Anna regret eating that extra couple of pieces of toast this morning, she did have a long way to go after all.

"So this must be what Kris was helping you with when you got back from your mission." Anna spoke more to herself than to West, but smiled at the memory nonetheless. "I can't believe I thought you were fucking." _I can't believe neither of you thought to tell me that you were hurt_ she thought bitterly.

"He mentioned that." West retorted, observing her newly bandaged wound in the mirror. "You did an okay job here Fields, I hate to admit it but...I'm just a little bit impressed."

Anna was flustered, she couldn't believe Kris had mentioned what she had said about the two of them, and the thought of him mentioning that made her wonder if he had mentioned anything else. She was so worried about what he might have said about her smart mouth that she hardly processed the compliment West had so easily given.

"S-sorry for barging in." Anna said sheepishly, averting her eyes while West washed the now dried blood from her hands and got dressed. "Your room is uh..."

There were no words. The room was unspeakably plain, save a strange wall with newspaper clippings and little pieces of string connecting them here and there. It was like something out of a conspiracy theory documentary, and no less creepy. No doubt it was classified as well, but there was no harm in trying to sneak a peak, was there?

"My room is standard issue, no distractions to keep me from focusing on my cases. Now, if you would?" West was in front of Anna in a second, almost as if she sensed that Anna was interested in the wall. "Thank you. For your help, that is. Not that I couldn't have done it myself, but still."

"Oh, well, you're welcome? I don't really know what came over me, I just..." Anna trailed off, unable to think of anything more to add to her sentence. West was so casual about being seen half clothed, so strangely at ease with their sudden increase in communication. It felt odd. Was this all just a day in the life of an agent?

"Tell me something, Fields. Are you afraid to die?"

Anna tried not to falter at the sudden question. For all she knew, this could be some sort of clever test devised by West, and she was intent to not fail any more during her training. "W-well I guess everyone is, I mean, aren't they? I'd rather die doing something worthwhile than die of old age trying to scrape together a living in some ratty apartment though."

West seemed to reflect on Anna's answer for a short while, staring hard at her all the while she did so. Anna did her best to stare back, but found her eyes wandering. West looked tired, it was probably hard to sleep the night before with such a wound in her side. Anna immediately felt a pang of guilt for goading West into doing even the smallest bit of exercise with herself and Kris, if she had known she wouldn't have said anything. It made complete sense now why Kris had been so odd in his behavior, why he had suggested studying rather than working out. Why hadn't Anna been intuitive enough to see it then?

"Let's get back to these guide books, shall we?"

 _Six Years Ago_

"You don't have to be so rough on the new guy, you know."

Elsa made a murmur of agreement, but rolled her shoulders defensively in response, "He's tough, with enough training he might have more strength than mostof _us_ and _he's_ human. We need to push him, he'll improve."

"He'll break if you push him any harder, Elsa." Merida reached out to Elsa, but Elsa shied away from the physical touch as if it might burn her.

"He'll be fine." Elsa whispered, carefully avoiding eye contact as she sidestepped Merida and headed toward her room. "It's been a long day, I'm going to bed. I'll take him out on a run first thing in the morning, so could you cook breakfast?"

Despite how quickly Elsa felt she was excusing herself, Merida seemed to be wise to Elsa's strange behavior and kept close behind to slip into Elsa's room along with her. "What's up with you? You've been pushing the recruit hard and training even harder yourself...did you get a difficult solo assignment that you're not telling us about or something?"

Elsa had begun pulling out clothes for a shower, shuffling through her drawers as if appearing busy might deter Merida from speaking further. As if Merida hadn't already called her out on the way she had been acting recently. It had taken longer than she anticipated, given Merida's typically feisty demeanor, but she stood now at the precipice of what could be the ruin of her comfortable life here in R pod. She opened her mouth to speak, but Merida sternly gave her a warning before she could say anything.

"And don't tell me it's nothing, either. We've worked and trained together for years, you can't lie. Not to me."

Elsa clenched her nightshirt tightly in her hand as her fingers curled into a fist, silently willing Merida out of her room. After a moment with no success, she released the crumpled shirt back into the drawer and turned around to face Merida. Elsa was ashamed to admit how long it took her to work things out, but it was all too clear for comfort now. She had fallen, and hard, for Merida. For her teammate. For her companion. But this was work, no time or place for a strange office romance, and likely no chance for reciprocation.

Since the day they began rooming together things were tense, both women had fairly commanding personalities and even their similar powers couldn't diffuse the tensions of learning to live together. But in time, Elsa taught Merida to cook and Merida showed Elsa that she didn't have to feel so negatively about her powers. The two co-existed in relative harmony, treating deep wounds that wouldn't heal with a long rest, having meals together, and generally just being teammates.

But the longer they were together the more things began to slowly change, to morph into some foggy mix of friendship and professionalism, and perhaps a little something more? Things had gotten so bad now that Elsa found it hard to focus on their missions, she had even gone so far as to begin taking on hoards of solo missions to avoid having to be around Merida any more than necessary. It seemed to be the only way to keep things under control, to keep these feelings from spilling out into the real world.

"Tell me what's going on, please Els. I'm worried about you."

Merida's voice was gentler this time, something that made Elsa's chest fill with an all too familiar ache. It was clear that it was now or never to say something, but the consequences could be more dire than what Elsa was willing to face. Was losing Merida worth the attempt to have her? "Would you consider us friends?"

"'Course we are..."

"And...and we've been through a lot together." Elsa paused, carefully picking her words. What she said could be the difference in a happy future and losing the only true friend she had. "You were the first person to take my hand, knowing what I was. You showed me that this power inside of both of us is something that can be used for good, not something to be ashamed of. And sure, we've had our little fights, but we've always come out together in the end. I can't thank you enough for how much of my life you've shaped for the better."

"You don't need to get all mushy, and you don't have to thank me. Els, I'll always do those things for you. I love you, you know that."

Elsa's chest tightened again as she raised her fingers to her temples. The words were right there for her to take and yet she couldn't be certain of their true meaning. Surely they were just meant in a friendly way, the way you speak to a friend so close you would consider them a sibling, and not in the way Elsa hoped. Surely. But there was some minuscule, crazy part of Elsa that hoped beyond hope for the best. Elsa forced herself to face Merida, forced herself to look into those perfect blue eyes, and trembled as she struggled to get the words out.

"That's just it, Mer...I _love_ you." Elsa's voice cracked as she fought not to let the hot tears pooling in her eyes fall, "I shouldn't. We're teammates, partners first and foremost. Our work has always been the priority, but something about you made me so weak that before I knew it I had fallen. Fallen for the way you absentmindedly try to tuck your hair behind your ear while you read, even though you know it's going to just fall right back into place, for the little sounds you make when you take a cat nap on the couch, even for the way you're grumpy first thing in the morning...I love you so much, but I've been too afraid to ruin the friendship to say anything."

Silence. A long, pointed, painful silence in which tears streamed down Elsa's face while Merida stood and gave no reaction. No confusion, no anger, not even fear. But nor was there joy or even a hint of a smile. Elsa had thought the pain of holding her feelings in had been difficult to suffer through, but this silence, this lack of action one way or the other was absolute agony. Her heart felt as though it were slowly, painstakingly being ripped into a thousand pieces.

"Was that all you had to say?"

A wave of numbness washed over Elsa, her head felt heavy and her chest felt as if it had just been filled with ice. She had expected her feelings to be pushed aside, certainly, but for her words to be treated as if they were nothing more than a trivial fact about an uninteresting subject wounded her more deeply than she had expected. Elsa had to steady herself against her dresser before she could dare to speak again.

"I-I'm so sorry, I shouldn't have-"

But Elsa was cut off before she could finish muttering her apology. Merida stepped forward and gently placed her hand on Elsa's cheek, planting a kiss right on Elsa's lips. The action ceased all words and indeed all thought from Elsa as she stood, positively stunned by the revelation. Every nerve in her body sprang back to life, and Elsa couldn't hold back the small laugh that escaped her.

"I've been waiting for so long to kiss you, my heart's beating so hard. Was that okay? I didn't even think, what if you didn't want-"

"I'm so confused," Elsa whispered, more to herself than to Merida. "I thought you were upset?"

"Upset? Are you mad? I've been waiting for you to make the first move."

Elsa smiled as she continued to weep, though now her tears were those of joy. She threw her arms around Merida and sobbed as Merida whispered, "I love you, too, you know. Since the moment I saw you I knew that you and I would end up right here, together."

XXX

 _Present_

The next morning, Anna was surprised with a new form of training – firearms. The thought of shooting a gun both terrified and excited Anna, who hadn't ever handled a gun in her life. West was rattling off caliber and talking about the finer details of each weapon spread out on the table before her, but all of it was going right in one ear and out the other as Anna nervously reached for a particularly pretty looking weapon.

In an instant West struck her hand, causing Anna to retract in both fear and astonishment. "What was that for?"

"That one's mine, which you would know if you had been listening to even half of what I've been saying." West sounded exasperated, as if the very idea of trying to teach Anna to shoot was already draining the very life from her. To Anna's dismay it seemed that West's kindness and casual behavior had been all used up during their interaction yesterday.

"I can just wait for Kris to come back, you know." Anna scowled as she rubbed the back of her hand where she had been struck.

"Bjorgman will be gone at _least_ another week, but if you'd like to further delay your training then I'd be happy to-"

"Sorry, I'll behave."

West expertly checked to see that the weapon she picked up for Anna was unloaded, the motion was o quick that Anna was impressed in spite of her current irritation with West. When handed the weapon Anna found her grasp was clumsy, even as she attempted to mirror the hand positions that she was being shown. Her stance was just as bad, if not worse, than her grip. She was stiff and nervous, more so than she thought she might be.

"Come on, Fields. Loosen up." West huffed. She stepped right behind Anna and grabbed her hips roughly, shifting her into a more acceptable position. "Feet apart, a little further. Now bend a little at the knees and bend forward at the hips, then extend your arms and take aim..."

Anna awkwardly complied with the orders, caught off guard by how intimate all this touching and shifting seemed. West seemed unbothered, making Anna get into and out of shooting stance so many times Anna wondered if they were ever actually going to shoot at anything.

It took hours to learn how to aim properly and reload a gun safely, but by the end of the day Anna found that she wasn't a half bad marksman. With more practice she could definitely find herself at ease with shooting.

"So, uh. Thanks for today, West." Anna carefully observed West cleaning one of the guns and did her best to mirror the actions, "You sure Kris won't be back sooner though?"

"Like I said, at least a week. Maybe longer. It's tough to tell." West paused and Anna could feel her watching for a reaction. "Why?"

"It's just, what kind of mission could take that long?"

"The _secret_ kind. Why are you so interested anyway? Surely he hasn't lured you into his bedroom already? He's fast, but not usually that fast."

"Oh, ha ha. Very funny. Not like you probably haven't slept with him at some point anyway. He says you guys have worked together for years."

West guffawed at this, something that Anna hadn't seen up to this point. She was truly laughing, and smiling too! "You think _I_ would stoop so low as to hop in bed with that moron? Please. Besides, he's _far_ from being my type."

"You know, he said the same thing." Anna thoughtfully recalled, "Well then, what _is_ your type?"

And just like that, West clammed up again. It was as if she had realized how candid she was being with Anna and immediately corrected her behavior. Anna couldn't help but wonder why West insisted on being so formal with her, especially when Kris was always so casual.

"Listen..." Anna bent one arm over her midsection and grasped at the other arm nervously, then realized how childish she must have looked and finished up with the gun in front of her. "I know you hate having to teach me while he's gone. I'm hopeful I'll be able to go on a mission some day..."

"Missions are dangerous, you know."

The statement sounded more grim than West meant it, or so Anna hoped. "Well sure, but can't any job be dangerous if you aren't trained properly?"

"Training." West scoffed as she placed a pristine weapon in its case and wiped her hands on a cloth. "You can train day and night, but circumstances are constantly changing on missions. They're always dangerous. Are you willing to lose your life for this job? Because it's entirely possible-"

"I signed all the papers! I'm an adult, and perfectly capable of making my own decisions. I won't ever be as good as you, sure, but I'll get better and better the more I do. If I could just get out there I could start improving-"

"I know you feel like you're ready, but you're not. There's still so much for you to learn and do here before we make you an agent, Fields. I'm not even sure why Felix wanted a review so early on, new recruits are rarely considered before being here at least a year."

"Well, maybe he sees something in me that-"

"Please don't tell me you think you're more special than all of the other recruits?" West shook her head, she looked more stern than Anna had seen her in the last few days. "You've been training your body all this time and, sure, it's helpful, but what about the mental toll this job will have on you? I'm sure Kris hasn't bothered touching any of that sticky mess in his super fun training sessions, has he?"

Anna felt as if she was shrinking with each word West spoke, shame welled up inside of her as the realization hit hard and fast. No matter how Anna wanted to argue she knew that West was right. Obviously they had known about humans who could handle the sight and knowledge that the monsters they idolized in media existed, so why should Anna be any different? They probably saw people like her every day. "Well, n-not _exactly_ but-"

"But nothing, Fields. You're going to see some fucked up things in this line of work and if you aren't ready you'll end up just another nameless, faceless drop off for the nut house."

" _Anna_."

West seemed caught off guard, she froze with her mouth opened slightly and brows knitted together in what looked like confusion. "What?"

"You know my name and you should use it. You got a file on me didn't you?" Anna's emotions threatened to bubble over again, but a carefully placed pause calmed her enough to continue. "I'm tired of all this last name nonsense. Could you please call me Anna?"

If West was feeling anything at all now, she was masking it well. They stood in awkward silence as the seconds ticked by, until West finally rolled her eyes and sighed. "I'll consider it. Does that make you feel better?"

"Actually, yes. Yes it does." Anna was more than a little pleased with herself at the development. "And you're right, Kris hasn't taught me anything...mental. But it can't be that bad right? You're both still here and doing just fine."

"What's the worst thing that you can remember ever happening to you?" West sounded like she was going to call Anna 'Fields' again, but opted to abruptly end her sentence without the word instead.

The memory immediately surfaced and Anna could feel her chest rising and falling more quickly as her pulse raced at the memory. "I guess it was about ten years ago now, maybe a little longer. I was on my way home from a part time job and I was mugged by some huge man. But someone saved me...someone that I don't think was entirely human."

"It makes you anxious, doesn't it?" West circled Anna in what felt like a predatory manner, "I can tell that you're breathing faster. You're afraid. Just the thought of it is enough to put you off guard."

"And?"

"And that's entirely the point, F-" West sighed, shaking her head, "I can't take you along on missions if you can't even handle the most minor of experiences. Kris and I have seen and experienced so much worse than a mugging, we're okay because of what we learned to prepare for those things. You're not ready."

Not ready, not ready. Every time West said those words Anna felt a pang of anger rush through her. _Obviously_ she wasn't ready yet, but couldn't something promising be said? "So what do I need to do? Which one of you is going to teach me?"

West looked at her quietly for a long while. She must have been a master of hiding her emotions, Anna reasoned, as she didn't look like she was considering anything at all. Maybe what to have for lunch, or what book she might read later, but definitely not something as serious as who might take Anna under their wing and prepare her for the supposed 'horrors' to come.

"Neither of us."

Something in the way that West looked at Anna following her statement made Anna squirm uncomfortably, and the way that she said it didn't sound too convincing either. There was a plan, that much was clear, but West merely smirked at her and began a silent treatment for the rest of the evening. No matter what Anna asked, how much she begged and pleaded, or how irritated she seemed to be with West, West refused to give in and give her any answers regarding her coming training. It wasn't until she was heading to bed that Anna found a small appointment card propped against her pillow. In flowing script it read ' _Tomorrow, Sauvage Hall, 8am sharp. E._ '

 _ **a/n: I noticed that a guest reviewer was a little ahead of my writing, I hope the following chapters helps alleviate your worries. I wouldn't be so mean as to send Anna into anything ill prepared! I'm currently a few chapters ahead, with a few 'set event' chapters as I'm calling them partially written. If I get to a point where I have more than 10 chapters prepared in advance, I may begin posting more frequently than once a month. Thanks for reading!**_


	5. Through My Fingers

Chapter Five: Through My Fingers

 _Four Years Ago_

It was supposed to be a standard mission. The three of them had been sent out gather information about a possible dragon in quadrant twelve of Arendelle, a wooded area at the outskirts of the city that encompassed far more trees than it did homes. Yet somehow they found themselves pinned in a small cavern entrance with the occasional rock or flaming pine cone being thrown in at them.

"This is stupid, can't we just kill them?" Kris stomped out yet another flaming cone before he scraped his boot in the earth to keep it from melting. "Surely they can't be _that_ much trouble."

"I think your navigation put us a little too deep into goblin territory for their comfort, unfortunately this could be pretty bad for us if we can't come up with some sort of plan to get out of here..."

"It's not the worst trouble we've been in, Els. Leave negotiations to me, after all I _am_ the most well spoken of us, eh?" Merida snorted at her own joke, knowing that while the goblins likely wouldn't understand any of them too well, she would be the least likely to be understood. "Kris why don't you go talk to them? It'll be good training for you!"

"That could work. You're the only human here, so they may see you as less of a threat..." Elsa made a less than fierce clawing motion with her hands in the air.

"Oh come on guys, you can't be serious. You want _me_ to go out there? They're throwing things!" Kris whined, "Besides, if neither of you are willing to do it why should I have to go?"

"Nothing too major, I'll keep an eye on you. If things get too rough then I guess we'll just make a run for it. There can't be that many of them out there, I think the reports show the group living here is relatively small. Fifty, sixty at most."

" _Sixty_? What do you mean-"

Elsa didn't even give Kris time to finish his thought, she was already grabbing at his arm and shoving him in the direction of the cavern entrance. Truthfully she had no idea what they were in for, but none of the goblins she had previously encountered had been too violent if they understood that the intruders were leaving the territory. It seemed a solid enough plan.

For a moment the lobbing of stones and other debris ceased, giving Elsa hope that the sight of a human might have given the goblins cause to second guess their attack. But the moment the silence was broken by Kris' awkward voice the goblins were at it again.

"We're just going to have to run..." Elsa groaned in frustration, "You change, I'll take Kris with me."

"You should change, I can take him-"

"He's just dead weight. Besides I'm stronger than you are. What happens if he passes out from fright?" Poking her tongue out in defiance, Elsa made it clear that she was having none of Merida's arguments today.

Merida glared but, after a fairly large roll of her eyes, made her change nonetheless. She took the form of a ruddy, rust colored wolf, and followed closely behind Elsa as they exited the cavern. Elsa dashed forward, grabbing the wincing and cowering Kris and tugging him along until he got his own footing and began running alongside her. The pair laughed triumphantly as they followed the streak of fast moving red ahead of them.

Merida led the would be pack, dodging gracefully between the thinning trees and skillfully avoiding the projectiles being lobbed at them from all directions. Elsa and Kris were not so graceful, and the sound of the occasional expletive confirmed that both had been hit a few times by something or other.

"It should be over soon, we're nearing the edge of their territory."

She had barely gotten the words out before she was struck again. Elsa shouted in agony as a sharpened branch was lobbed into her forearm, tearing through her shirt and creating a ragged gash that began to bleed freely. Something was wrong here, horribly wrong.

"Run, _RUN_!" Elsa urged, shoving Kris forward toward Merida, toward safety.

This was no longer a mere irritation over trespassing, it had evolved into something more in that instant. But what had caused it? They had been peaceful in their entry, hadn't carried any heavy weaponry in with them, and yet the goblins seemed to be declaring all out war on them. The uncertainty of their situation brought a sick feeling to Elsa's stomach that, even as her body shifted and grew into her most terrifying form, she was unable to shake. A guttural roar rose from her throat as she skidded to a stop in the leaves and turned to face the advancing line of enemies. Claws lashed out at a few of the goblins that had been foolish enough to gather together, landing a blow so powerful that it knocked them onto their backs a good ten feet away.

They scattered quickly, either from fear or some strategy that they had worked out, but by now Elsa's nose had filled with the smell of blood. Merida and Kris' safety was of top concern now. Screw the goblins, and fuck the mission. Though this form was more designed to function on two legs, she took to all four, barreling through the underbrush and just barely dodging trees, following the growing coppery stink of blood.

She expected an injury, sure, but the scene that she came upon was something that she hadn't seen even in the worst of her nightmares. Kris was leaned up against a tree with two dead goblins nearby. His arm was bent at an angle that was all wrong, no doubt broken from a fall or perhaps a scuffle with one of the two that had been slain. But Merida...Merida's wounds were much more severe. Elsa slid to Merida's side immediately, shifting back into human form and ignoring the pain in her knees as they scraped on the twigs and rocks on the forest floor.

"Mer, Mer say something." Elsa urged, hands hovering above Merida's body, unsure of where they were needed the most. She struggled, finding it hard to calm herself down and remember her training in the face of such a dire injury.

"Come here o-often?" Merida coughed, spraying little droplets of blood from her lips.

Instinctively Elsa grabbed her radio, but Kris spoke up. "I called. They're on the way."

Elsa, unconcerned for her own wounds, tore off her over shirt and began ripping at her clothes, pulling strips off and trying to decide where they were most needed for Merida's injuries. Some would heal, she knew, the shallower ones on her upper arms and legs would be fine in a night, but the true source of most concern lay in a a tiny, nearly round puncture wound in the meatiest portion of Merida's leg. Elsa froze as the realization hit her – it was a bullet wound.

"Is it silver?" Elsa asked frantically as she pressed a portion of fabric over the wound with one hand and felt on her belt for a knife with the other. There was a good chance she would have to make an attempt to remove it if it was silver, but Merida seemed too distracted to answer.

"Has anyone ever told you that you have the most stunning eyes?"

Merida had a pained smile on her lips and her breathing was becoming labored, Elsa couldn't help it. Her eyes filled with hot tears as she stared down at the weakened Merida. Her stomach clenched as she held back a sob, but her lips turned up in a shaky smile as she reminded herself over and over that help was on the way. Merida just needed to hold on a few minutes longer and help would be here. Releasing the pressure Elsa carefully tied a tourniquet with the strip of fabric, hoping beyond hope that it would hold. "Once. A fiery red head."

"Did she s-steal your heart?"

Elsa's hands shook as she ever so gently shifted Merida into a seated position, resting Merida's body across her lap. She told herself it was to help Merida breathe, but truthfully she felt at ease knowing that she was holding Merida close. "She did."

"Shame, I'd have liked to take you out."

"Mer, you shouldn't talk." Elsa sobbed, running her hands over Merida's leaf strewn hair. "Save your strength, they'll be here soon-"

Merida laughed aloud at the suggestion, sending a fine spray of blood onto her clothes. She looked up at Elsa, a smile on her lips. Even now, in spite of everything that was happening, she smiled for Elsa. "I love you, Elsa West."

"I love you too." Elsa could barely get the words out before she pressed her lips against Merida's, the taste of her own tears mixed poorly with the taste of blood in Merida's mouth.

The statement had been the strongest one Merida had made yet, but the rattling sound of her breath leaving her in the next instant was unmistakable. For a moment as Merida's eyes stared forward, boring into Elsa's. It almost seemed as if the whole act was part of a ruse, a test of her reaction to an emergency, but the feeling would not last. The blue of her eyes didn't go all at once. No, it took a moment for the life to leave them. But once it had, Elsa's will shattered. She pulled Merida's lifeless body close and sobbed openly into her chest, screaming furiously, wailing in despair.

Numbness swept over her body, and a few moments later her mind as well. She turned her gaze on Kris, her face hardened with anger and betrayal. "Who shot her?" she demanded, shifting Merida off of her as she stumbled to her feet and toward him. She swaggered almost drunkenly, losing more and more of herself with each step. "Who was it?!"

"Elsa what are you talking about? There was no-"

But Kris stopped, Elsa's body had begun to shift unbidden. In an instant she was monstrous again, the anguish in her heart at losing Merida compounding by the second. She was spiraling, lashing out at the tree that Kris sat against, perhaps in an attempt to frighten him into giving her the truth. Honestly, she was no longer sure why she was doing anything. Nothing mattered now, Merida was her world, and she had been taken.

Even as other agents arrived on the scene, Elsa couldn't revert to human form. She began acting like a wild animal protecting its' kill, hunkering down over Merida's body and roaring her displeasure at the presence of the others in her time of anguish. Kris was shouting, waving his good arm and trying to stand, but whatever he was saying fell on deaf ears. They held up their guns, pointing them right at her vitals, and in that moment she felt clarity: she wanted them to fire. She wished they would lead her into the arms of death, that she might be with Merida again. A sharp pain shot through her neck soon after and her brain went fuzzy. Then, the world went black.

The sound of voices woke her later that evening, and she had to raise her head to see what was going on around her. She had been restrained with any and every device that might hold her, then strapped to a board that had been set against a wall. A bright light was shining in her direction, she could tell that much despite the distortion of the beam by the tears already forming in her eyes. She felt utterly alone, and the knowledge that she was no doubt to be interrogated ruthlessly made the feeling all the more desperate.

"Sir, she's awake. She's uh, she's crying or-"

"Agent West. Why is it that we found you in a threatening position over a fellow agent, with another agent _dead_?"

In spite of the light in her eyes, the second voice was unmistakable – Frollo would be her interrogator. That fact alone spoke volumes, as Frollo was only assigned to handle the most heinous and ruthless of crimes within the organization. They thought her a murderer no doubt, but Elsa's chest ached and she couldn't stop herself from weeping silently. Dead. The word swirled around in her mind, playing in a loop until she audibly sobbed, struggling to breathe against the restraints.

"Sir, perhaps it would be best if we were to wait for-"

"Quiet, boy, or I'll see to it that you find yourself in restraints as well. Now, Agent West. You know me well. I am not a patient man and I will not ask a third time. Why were you so grotesquely deformed and standing over a fellow agent, while another lay dead at your feet? Were you threatening his life to keep him silent after he witnessed a murder?"

"NO!" Elsa rasped between sobs, "Never. I could never. I wouldn't. Shot. She was shot. Her leg...I love her. I couldn't." The urgency in her voice faded the longer she spoke her staccato phrases, her mind fuzzily trying to piece the events together.

"Goblins don't have _guns_ , West." Frollo said matter-of-factly, "And they certainly don't have the wits to know to use silver on a _beast._ So who but you could have shot her in such a fatal way?"

Involuntarily she could feel her body attempting to change as rage gripped her tight, but the restraints holding her seemed to stop the transformation. Magic. "I love her. I would _never_ hurt her. I would die first."

More tears, by now her shirt collar was soaked in them, but she couldn't ebb their flow. It was agony, the vision of Merida bloodied and lifeless in her arms, the knowledge that she would never again hear her laugh or cry or say she loved her, and worst of all the memory of the sound of Merida's last breath leaving her body. Being forced to relive all of these events so soon after such a massive loss was a slap in the face.

"You may die still." Frollo began, looking at her like she was nothing at all to him, "I find you utterly repulsive, West. You're monstrous, in body and in deed, but you hide behind such a beautiful facade. If it were up to me, you would be killed here and now for your misdeeds-"

Behind Frollo a door slammed shut, someone had joined the little interrogation party. He was a man of short stature, with soft brown hair and even softer eyes – very much the opposite of Frollo. Elsa had never met this man before, so he was either new, higher up on the food chain than Frollo, or merely a nobody.

"My land, what a terrible thing to say to a lady! Good thing you don't get to make any decisions! Set her free from her restraints right this minute, Agent Bjorgman has cleared everything up. Frankly _you_ should have asked him about the events first, rather than hurting this poor thing. Our very own Agent West is a hero" The man paused, looking at her with a gentle, understanding expression, "and I think she deserves some time to grieve. And as for you, Frollo. I think it's time we discuss your position here..."

And just like that, the world continued turning. It didn't matter that her heart still ached, that her chest felt hollow or that her stomach never demanded food, the organization continued running as it always did. The other agents has mourned, they had attended the funeral service, but each of them got to go right back to their own lives. Elsa, however, was troubled by the memories of Merida everywhere she turned, seemingly trapping her in a mire of overwhelming guilt and sorrow.

 _Present_

Elsa thumbed through a thin file of crime scene photos, copies of lab reports, and the slim compilation of notes that Olaf had managed to gather for her. Frankly, it was almost insulting. The file was half the size of any she had received previously and had almost no information that she hadn't learned at the scene herself.

"All that dramatic fanfare for this case and this was all you could get me?" Elsa asked, looking askance at Olaf.

"Y-yes. But I can tell you more than I can give you, what else do you need to know?"

"The name of the perpetrator would be nice, but I assume that if you had that you would have given it to me, hm?" Olaf looked even more uncomfortable, but Elsa did nothing to assuage his feelings. "I'm still not entirely sure why you called me on this one. Obviously it's supernatural, but it doesn't really fit with the pattern, does it?"

"Red hair, that's what you said. Deaths that have a supernatural trait and a victim that is female with red hair." Olaf recited the words she had spoken so long ago as if she had given him his directive yesterday. "And she checked all the boxes."

"This is dyed hair though, do you really think our killer could have been so meticulous as to not leave a single trace of themselves in the homes of the victims but still mistake this color for a natural one?"

"In the right light I would think it would be indistinguishable!"

Elsa sighed as she closed the tiny folder and set it down on the table in front of her. He could be right. It was entirely possible that by the time the killer had realized their mistake it was too late, but it was also possible that this murder wasn't linked to the others. Merida's death had weighed heavily on Elsa in the last few years, and though Elsa's meeting Olaf so soon after her death seemed fortuitous she was not impressed with the results their friendship had been yielding of late. The number of deaths was rising too quickly now, much more quickly than their suspected pattern had dictated.

"Why am I even still doing this?" Elsa mused aloud, bringing a hand to her face and slowly brushing her bangs to the side. "Maybe it was just a freak accident after all. Maybe there isn't a killer."

"Oh come on West, you can't get discouraged now!" Olaf chimed almost happily, "Sure it's been years and we've still got nothing to go on but-"

"I get it, I get it." Elsa said, waving a hand in front of her to silence Olaf. "I'm not quitting, just thinking aloud. Without you I wouldn't have even realized that Mer wasn't the only one, so, even though this batch of information wasn't terribly useful, thanks. I feel like we're just missing one thing, one little thing and the case will bust wide open."

"I'll keep my eyes peeled! You can count on me!"

One mistake was what they needed. One single slip up by the person committing these crimes could not only link all the cases, but also lead them straight to the killer. She eyed the folder on the table with disdain, was it even worth taking this one back with her? Those claw marks were obviously a werewolf, or some other were-creature, but the hair...she just couldn't put it aside how wrong the choice the killer made here seemed if they were truly following a pattern.

"What about the other thing I asked you to do?"

"Other...thing?"

"The mugging. Did you get the information I asked for on it?"

"Oh, the super secret bonus research!" Olaf had been a little louder than Elsa would have liked, but he quickly lowered his tone as Elsa shot him a stern look, "Of course I did!"

Elsa stiffened. When Anna had relayed her most frightening moment it had deeply troubled Elsa, for an uncomfortably similar event in her own life set her down the path to involvement with S.N.O. as well. It seemed highly unlikely that the two would have met ten years prior to Fields' assignment to them for training, and yet the suspicion nagged at her just enough for her to have Olaf do a little digging. "Well?"

"The date you gave me did pull a mugging, lots of muggings actually, but then I went off of the description of the people involved and I found the one you needed. From the look of it this is the one that was used to begin locating you, as well as a second person, a miss-"

"Anna Fields."

Olaf's face contorted, his previously exaggerated 'sneaky' face fell into a dissatisfied frown. "If you knew then why did you have me look this up?"

"I didn't _know._ I suspected, but I didn't know with any certainty." Elsa groaned, "Great, just great."

"What?"

"Nothing, Olaf. Just, thanks. Give me a call if you see anything else that seems to fit our pattern."

XXX

Anna brimmed with excitement as she sat in the more than half empty auditorium. This was another step closer to becoming an agent, and all the had to do was learn how to handle herself in emotionally difficult situations. Piece of cake! While waiting for the class to begin Anna tapped the card she had received from the mysterious 'E' on the desk, hoping that they might be here rather than just extending the invitation to the class and letting her attend on her own.

But as Anna looked around, hoping to somehow know who 'E' was on sight, a raucous, cackling laugh echoed in the auditorium. No one had entered through either of the two doors to either side of the podium at the front, and Anna hadn't heard the squeaky door at the rear of the room in quite some time, so just where was the sound coming from? She wasn't the only one looking around anymore, but no one seemed to make eye contact even as they searched for the source of the laughter.

"Scared?" a voice whispered in her ear.

Anna whipped around to look over her right shoulder, but nothing was there. Had she imagined the question? Had anyone else heard that strange voice in their ear? She could feel her heart beginning to speed up and fought to slow it down.

"Fear is a wonderful tool." the voice said again, sounding like an almost bad impression of an evil television witch, "Your enemies will most certainly use it against you. Mustn't let them get the best of you!"

A scream sounded as another person present for the class was yanked up and out of their chair by the shirt collar. The dark haired boy struggled against an unseen force and Anna could feel herself freezing. It wasn't _real_ danger, was it? Had this all been some sort of set up to test their readiness? Was 'E' a foe and not a friend at all? Anna immediately regretted not telling West where she was headed this morning, what if she didn't come back from this class at all?

"My, my, what an un-lively group we have here." Wisps of smoke gathered at the central podium, and for a moment she could see a monster unlike anything she had ever seen before in the wisps. Then in an instant she was solid, a short woman with lively purple hair. She laughed again, twirling in a circle. "Imagine if I really _had_ wanted to eat that boy."

The woman pointed at the whiteboard and words began to form. Anxiety, paranoia, aggression, night terrors...it seemed to be a list of side effects of some sort. Anna quickly worked to jot the words down as they appeared, almost un-phased that the woman hadn't lifted a single finger to write the words herself. Magic, or illusions, were the least of her worries for the moment.

"Some of your hearts are weak, I can see now that you would make better researchers than you would agents. If I had my way you'd all be snacks." The woman steepled her fingers together in front of her mouth for a brief moment, then she dropped her hands with a dramatic sigh and continued her little speech. "But I suppose that's not my choice to make. Now then, you've all seen the list of effects that extreme fear will likely have on your weak minds in this line of work. There's one that I've left off though, anyone care to guess what that might be?"

"Desensitization." called a young man from the front.

"Oh very _good_ young man. I see you've taken this crash course before! Desensitization" she paused, and with a flick of her wrist the word wrote itself on the board below the others and underlined itself, "is the goal. Ideally you will experience fear and with the help of my trusty methodology you will be able to not just overcome it, but adjust to it. You'll see things like mangled bodies, murdered children, horrible beasts that seem to come from another world and you wont even bat an eye!"

She seemed excited at the concept of showing them these things, though thankfully no images appeared on the board behind her. Anna nearly breathed a sigh of relief, but she found herself too concerned with not drawing unwanted attention from the lecturer that she couldn't manage to do anything but sit still in her seat and prepare to take more notes.

"As much as I _hate_ teaching these pillars, it is what I'm being employed to do. So, I shall."

The woman grew to a terrifying size, as she grew taller her extremities seemed to engorge and her skin paled to a sickly green. Her head and nose grew bulbous and her hair stringy, but remained the same striking purple color. She was taking the form of what someone might portray a very ugly giant to look like, Anna assumed at least. Her humongous hand reached out into the front row where the young man who had answered her question sat and lifted him from his seat, a malicious smile on her over-sized lips.

"A mother's child has been taken by a giant!" The woman cackled, "A hungry giant who has devoured him in one bite and left her all alone in the world. What do you do?"

"Give her a sense of safety." the man in her hand answered, "Mim, could you put me down please? You know I've been here before, so why not try to frighten another student?"

Mim. The lecturer's name was Mim, and she was obviously some kind of non-human. Or a powerful illusionist. Either way, Anna prayed like she had never prayed before that she would go unnoticed as Mim dropped the man back off in his seat and shrunk back down to size.

"Correct. _Safety_. Make her understand that though her child is gone, she is safe for you have slain the giant. Though, you might first give her a sense of _calm_ so that she isn't hysterically sobbing over the loss of her child?" Mim looked at the young man who seemed disinterested in her suggestion, "And of course a sense of hope for the future, after all she can always make another child! Which brings us to a sense of efficacy. Bring her to the realization that she _can_ make another child, one that will be even better than the one eaten brutally by the giant."

She went on to explain that these methods worked both on other people as well as yourself, but Anna was having trouble wrapping her brain around all of it. Not just the methods, but the fact that someone who was so very clearly non-human, so obviously not entirely encompassed in the field of 'good' was here teaching a course on how to handle the emotionally taxing work that lay ahead of them all. Anna wondered if she had always been this way, so focused on the dark and hideous aspects of the job, or if the work she had done had made her this way.

Regardless, Mim ended her 'class' shortly after, and with another cackle she disappeared in a puff of smoke. The abrupt end left many of the first time attendees a little dumbfounded, Anna included. They had basically been given a crash course in training to protect themselves emotionally from their jobs, but how would they put it into practice?

Anna was frustrated, to say the least, when she arrived home with sparse notes and only a loose understanding of how she would need to handle not only herself, but possibly others in a bad situation. It was clear that most of her learning would have to take place on her own. And the first order of business, at least in her own mind, was to figure out just what her 'teacher' was.

She pored over books for hours, so long in fact that by the time she realized the room was far too quiet night had already fallen. Her stomach growled unceremoniously as she wandered into the kitchen, checking the front of any and all appliances for a note or something to indicate where West might have gone.

"Huh." Anna said aloud to herself.

Given the circumstances she should have been excited, gleeful even. For months she had seen Kris and West each and every day whether she wanted to or not, but now that she was alone she felt strangely lonely. Anna crossed her arms over her midsection, holding herself in the silent kitchen as the weight of being so alone grew heavier on her shoulders.

As if in response to that heavy, lonely feeling settling in the sound of a key in the lock snapped her back to reality. West entered looking less angry than she usually did, at least in a mellow sort of way.

"Hey."

West looked up at Anna, and Anna got the sense that she wasn't too keen on responding. "Hello."

"Have a good day?"

"You don't have to push small talk, you know." West said, locking the door behind her as she sauntered into the kitchen with Anna. "I'm perfectly happy to sit in a silent room."

"Well, _I_ had a good day." Anna said with a smile, flashing the invitation card for her class in front of West. "Weren't you a little curious when I wasn't here this morning?"

"I hadn't noticed you were gone." West said, grasping the corner of the card and tilting it toward her. She focused on the card a moment before releasing it, clearly uninterested. "Had my own things to take care of today. I take it you met Mim then?"

Anna groaned at the thought of her unfinished research. "I did. I've scoured those books since I've been back and still can't settle on just what she is though."

"I'm not sure anyone knows. She claims to have seen the rise and fall of ancient civilizations, even beyond the life spans of the oldest known vampires. Interesting woman. Absolutely batty, but some of the things she says, well, they make you wonder..."

"I didn't get to meet the person who left me this note in the class. Honestly it was a little bit of a let down."

"Oh? What exactly were you expecting?"

"I don't know. An escort to the class? A friendly face to sit by? A-"

"A white knight with dark hair and even darker eyes to scoop you up in his arms and tell you how wonderful you are? How good an agent you'll make?"

Anna flushed, clutching the card close to her chest. "Not at all!" she huffed, "I just thought maybe I wouldn't be alone in the class is all. It wasn't exactly the most educational class anyway. What kind of training takes a few hours and you're through?"

"That's a surprise to hear from you. You're right though. It's a brief course because it's difficult to teach without being hands on. They can't exactly toss you into the path of true terror and let you sort yourself out. I suppose they could, but it wouldn't be very ethical unless it was closely controlled." West was casually digging through the refrigerator now and clearly attempting to piece together some sort of meal with what they had. "I could help you out tomorrow, if you would like."

The words took Anna by surprise. Just yesterday West had all but flat out refused to participate in even teaching her the basics of mental preparation for these missions, and now she was suddenly helpful? There had to be a catch. West, with an armful of mismatched ingredients, straightened her back and looked very briefly at Anna as if she expected a response before setting things down on the counter and getting to work.

"Are you okay, West?"

West paused in the middle of peeling a carrot but didn't look up at Anna. For a moment, even less than that, West looked as if she might be on the verge of telling Anna some deep, dark secret. Her brows were furrowed, her lips pursed ever so slightly, and if Anna didn't know better she would have thought that she had seen a slight waver in West's hands. West never said anything though, just silently carried on with her work.

"I just mean, well, that would be really nice." Anna could hardly believe her luck. Maybe being away from Kris was taking a toll on West as well. "Thanks."

 _ **a/n: Next chapter will be a bit more interesting! I should post again in about a month, possibly less. This is a manageable time frame for me to plan/write out chapters while still allowing myself to make changes if I see fit. As I said before, if I can get quite a bit ahead then I'll start posting more frequently. Look forward to seeing you all next chapter!**_


	6. A Fine Line

Chapter Six: A Fine Line

Morning found Anna standing inside of a heavily fortified room in an even more heavily fortified building with West and someone she had gathered from whispered conversations was called Eilonwy, though whether that was her first or last name Anna couldn't tell. West seemed to be speaking rather intensely with the woman, though both appeared placid on the surface. Anna was only catching snippets here and there, but that didn't stop her from attempting to piece together what was going on.

"-still undergoing testing-" the woman called Eilonwy had said somewhere in the middle of a sentence, only to be interrupted by West.

"So we'll observe the whole time, then-"

"-perilous danger if-"

"-likelihood of an incident is low." West looked confident as she spoke the words.

Eilonwy fell silent and Anna assumed by the triumphant look on West's face that she had won. West returned to her and with a small, cocky smile on her lips announced proudly, "Today you'll be training in the newly developed simulation room, courtesy of Eilonwy Llyr. We'll be observing you from outside the-"

" _I_ " The woman called Eilonwy said sternly, staring West down as she finished her sentence, "will be observing the _both_ of you from outside. To keep the likelihood of any traumatic incidents low."

Traumatic incidents? Anna looked to West, hoping that her face wasn't betraying the inkling of fear that had begun to build inside her, only to see that West looked positively irate. It was clear that her participation in this seemingly untested training room hadn't been part of the plan at all. But whatever arguments West had against going with Anna, she kept them to herself.

"Hope you're not wearing anything you can't live without. This thing is pretty realistic from what Eil says. We shouldn't need weapons or anything though, it's all simulated so there's no _real_ danger." West paused, a strange expression on her face, "It'll feel real though. And we should treat it as if it is. You sure you want to do this?"

The question felt baited, if Anna said no then West might turn in another poor report on her, but if she agreed too quickly West might assume that she hadn't considered her options carefully enough. Either way, it seemed Anna was in a predicament. Eventually she settled on a simple nod in response, to which West grunted a reply.

West spoke quietly with Eilonwy for a moment longer before a sliding door hissed and opened into what looked like an empty room. West stepped toward the door, then paused and motioned for Anna to enter. "Ladies first."

 _Lady_ Anna thought irately to herself, though she complied regardless. The room seemed entirely empty, void of any furniture with bare, concrete floors. The hiss of the door sounded again and Anna turned to look at West, gasping as she did so.

Where there had once been a door now seemed to be a vast, endless lake or reservoir of some sort. She might have said an ocean, but there was no sand, no beach to indicate that it might be an ocean. Anna stared hard, looking past West at where she remembered the door being. The longer she stared, the more bewildered she became. There were no projection screens on the ceiling that she recalled seeing, and she couldn't see any stray beams of light that would indicate their environment was a projection either. Something was making this experience too real for comfort and, in spite of her best efforts, Anna began to feel the tingle of fear in her heart.

"As attractive as I am, staring at me won't get you any further along in your training, Fields."

" _Anna._ How many times do I need to say it?" Anna huffed, turning her back to West to hide the slight pink hue creeping into her cheeks.

The quip had been unexpected, it seemed that Eilonwy woman had loosened West up a little. Anna hesitated for a moment, looking into the seemingly endless abyss of white trunked trees that lay in the darkness before them and wondering what this strange room held. She would be tested today, maybe beyond the limits of her preparedness, but at the very least she would have West here. West wouldn't let her completely lose her mind, right?

"What good is this supposed to do?" Anna asked, after a few moments of carefully navigating through the continually thickening forest, "I mean, this is a bit spooky but-"

Anna turned and West stood quietly behind her, eyes fixed on something in the distance. She gave West a questioning glance, but on turning around she could see why West had been staring so hard. The trees had suddenly and silently moved aside to reveal a small cabin in a clearing that Anna distinctly recalled not being there a few seconds ago. A chill went up her spine and she did the best she could not to let the growing sense of anxiety in her reflect outwardly.

The cabin seemed normal enough from the outside, clearly it had been built with the same trees that surrounded it. The thick trunks had been fashioned into neatly stacked walls, pretty little curtains hung in the two windows on either side of the door, which had been painted a deep green. A steady billow of smoke rose from its' little chimney, indicating that someone was home. It seemed entirely normal, aside from the sudden and eerie appearance.

"Well that couldn't be any more obvious if it tried." Anna said, weakly laughing at her own little attempt to calm her nerves. "I guess we should head that way."

"You're in charge." West conceded, nodding toward the house.

Anna knocked on the door once, then a second time, but before her knuckles could rap out the third knock the door opened a crack. An old man with graying hair and small glasses answered the door. Even behind the little circular frames Anna could see that he looked haggard, as if he hadn't been sleeping well for some time. _I wouldn't sleep well in the middle of these woods either_.

"Here to see the boy?"

Anna glanced back at West, who was stoic as ever and offered no assistance with what needed to be said. "The...the boy?" Anna finally asked, feeling stupid for not being able to think of something better to say.

The door creaked as the man opened it a little wider, just wide enough for Anna and then West to pass through. The interior of the home was lit by sconces on the wall and strategically placed candles, giving Anna the creeps as she continued to look around. A table, two chairs, and a fireplace...the room was far too plain for her liking. Something felt off, but Anna couldn't tell just what it was.

Wordlessly the man gestured to a room off the main area and Anna, after staring at him for a moment longer, slowly made her way toward it. It was just as sparsely decorated as the main room, an unsurprising but still unsettling fact. There was nothing more than a bed, a chest of drawers, and a mirror within, and at the center of the room a dark haired boy sat playing with a small set of blocks.

"Oh, hello." Anna said the words reflexively, feeling as if she should have announced herself before entering rather than just walking in.

The boy looked up from his blocks, his dark eyes stared daggers into Anna as she stood stock still under his scrutinizing gaze. His little brows came together in a displeased expression, but he said nothing. He merely turned his gaze back to the blocks he had been playing with and stacked another on top of two that had already been placed on the floor.

"I'm Anna. What's your name?"

Silence, save the occasional _plock_ of blocks being stacked atop one another. Anna's resolve wavered as she realized that she still had no idea just what she was doing here. The man, perhaps the child's father, had said something about being here to see the boy, she recalled, but what an odd way to answer the door. Most parents didn't allow stranger off the street into their home to see a child...perhaps the true problem in the household was the father and the child was merely a distraction?

Anna stiffened slightly as she heard something shift behind her, but a glance back told Anna that it had been West, and that West would be of little to no help. She was looking at the mirror, something that Anna found mildly irritating given her current predicament. How could West be checking her appearance at a time like this? Anna shook the thought and returned to the task at hand, she'd have plenty of time to poke fun at West when they were through.

Off hand Anna couldn't recall any beings that used children to lure in potential prey, but wasn't the purpose of this training to test her mental preparedness? Anna's head swum as confusion set in. Just what was she supposed to be doing here? Not just in this house, but in this training session? Was she meant to figure out the issue in the home and settle it? Growing more uncertain by the moment, Anna decided to dive head first into figuring out just why she was here.

"Would you mind if I played with you?" Anna asked pleasantly, kneeling by the child.

Blocks clattered to the floor as the child knocked them over, glaring at Anna as if she had caused them to tumble. Anna quickly stepped in to attempt to re-assemble the tower, but the child began to cry. He was loud for such a small thing, but that was true of children in general wasn't it? She cooed and made silly noises in an attempt to quiet him before the father could hear and come rushing in, but to no avail.

The boy began to scream now, his little mouth wide and his eyes producing great big tears. Anna looked over her shoulder at the door, expecting the father to be in the doorway looking cross. On seeing it was empty, she looked over at West pleadingly, but West did nothing but continue to stare into the mirror.

 _Useless_ Anna thought to herself as she attempted to brush away some tears on the little boy's cheek _Some training this is_. He wailed louder at the proximity of Anna's hand, rising to his little legs and balling his fists. Anna shushed and crooned, reaching out to take his little hand in an attempt to soothe him, but the touch did exactly the opposite.

His cries grew almost deafening as he yanked his little hand from Anna's grasp, his skin began to yellow and pucker where she had touched him. It seemed to turn in on itself, giving his skin the appearance of a many eyed potato. Revolted, Anna fell backwards onto the floor. Her eyes widened in terror as the boy continued to shift and change, turning into something straight out of a horror movie. His little limbs grew gnarled, his skin turned the color of bloody pus and his mouth, now filled with rows upon rows of dagger like teeth, had grown all too wide for comfort.

A scream primed itself in Anna's throat, but no sound came out. At least, none that she could hear over the wails of the monster before her. Her panicked mind fell into a fog, what was she looking at? She couldn't recall anything in those books that looked as horrible as this, her heart hammered in her chest and sent her head into a spin. _Think, think_.

On club feet it swayed toward her, mouth gaping with a thousand tiny daggers ready to sink into her skin. Anna's heart felt like it might burst if it beat any harder or faster, then her vision started to blur. Was this what being close to fainting felt like?

Something jolted her out of her fog, and it took a moment to realize that the creature was farther now. That West's hands had gripped her arms and lifted her from the ground and out of the path of the ambling creature. If West had been speaking to her then Anna couldn't hear it. Blood pumped loudly in her ears, breaking up the cries of the horrible little beast before her.

"I don't know what it is!" Anna shouted, despite the fact that West likely couldn't hear her over the screams.

Regardless of whether she had been heard or not she was grateful, West had snapped Anna back from the brink of terror and into the realm of extremely disturbed. Anna could work with disturbed. West had given her just enough time to actually think about the situation. Horrifying as the thing was, it wasn't very fast. _I'll be fine_ she told herself, _I can do this_.

Stepping back a little as the thing got too close for comfort Anna reviewed what she knew about the thing. It had been disguised as a child, clearly it had been ill mannered and judging by the haggard appearance of its father this may not have been the first time it had screamed so horribly. Did he know about the true form of his child or was he completely oblivious?

Anna stepped around the thing again, backing right into the mirror in the room and sending it toppling to the floor. Her shoes crunched as she walked over the shattered glass, then a crazy thought crossed her mind: the shards would be more than sharp enough to harm this thing and perhaps make it shift back into its human form.

Quickly she gathered some of the shards, wincing as they bit into her skin unpleasantly. She attempted to slash out at the thing, but its' mouth was too large. As her hand neared it the thing swiveled its' head down, nearly taking off her hand as it chomped down with a sickening 'clack' of teeth on teeth. Her plan wasn't working, but Anna tried to calm herself. There was surely another way.

Then, in a moment of sheer desperation, Anna threw the shards as hard as she could into the mouth of the creature. For a second the thing paused, having instinctively clasped its mouth closed around the jagged pieces of glass, then it audibly swallowed and its' mouth opened wide again as it began ambling forward. Anna's heart dropped. _Of course it couldn't be that easy_.

Sheer stubbornness kept her from collapsing in fear again, from running to West and begging for a hint or help. Anna turned her back on the thing and ran toward the chest of drawers in the room, tugging one free and brandishing it almost like someone would a bat. But as she turned, ready to hit the thing hard as she could over the head, she realized that it was no longer moving. It had stopped entirely and tilted the wide gaping mouth to the ceiling as smoke began to rise from its' throat. First a wisp, then a full on cloud rose. With a final, near deafening screech it collapsed in on itself, disappearing in a puff of black, sooty smoke.

Anna couldn't help the crooked, open mouthed smile that tugged at the corners of her mouth. She looked toward West, who now stood near the entry way to the room, and a bemused chuckle escaped her as she internally celebrated the small victory. She had managed to overcome her fear and take down an unknown combatant without getting herself hurt too-

"My child...what have you done with my boy?"

 _Shit._ Anna hadn't thought this far ahead, she had acted rashly without realizing that if the thing disappeared, then so too did the man's son. They were one in the same.

"Sir, if you could take a seat and breathe a little for me that would be great." Anna said, surprised to see that he readily obeyed even though her voice was far less than authoritative. Was this what fear of the unknown did to people? "Everything is just fine, alright? We're here to make sure you're alright first and foremost."

The man murmured quietly on the bed, wringing his hands in his lap and looking around the room for signs of her child. Anna's heart, once racing in fear, now slowed as uncertainty settle over her. She had managed to calm herself down, albeit with a little help from West, but how was she to explain this to a man who might know very little about the reality of his situation? Would he even understand and explanation if Anna actually had one prepared? Nervously Anna looked up at West, who much to Anna's surprised also looked concerned.

Anna needed an explanation for the father, and quickly. She still wasn't entirely sure what the thing had been, but she had an inkling. "You look tired. It must be hard raising a child on your own."

It had been a guess, but clearly a correct guess to Anna's relief. The father's bloodshot eyes welled with tears and his lip trembled. "He has been a difficult child, being alone only made it harder."

"Even the best of kids can be tough. But..." Anna paused, her face softened with sympathy as she struggled to continue, "...but maybe he was a little more difficult than others, huh?"

The father sobbed audibly, bringing his hands up to cover his eyes. "I'm so ashamed. His temper is because I couldn't love him enough." he sniffled quietly into his hands, "I had to hunt and cut firewood and be father and mother all at once, I just couldn't be enough for him."

Anna made to place a hand in support on the father's shoulder, but realized her hands were still bleeding from the glass and thought better of it. "No. I think you were more than enough for _your_ son." she said gently, pausing inadvertently as she gulped. It was now or never. "But I'm not sure that thing you've been raising was your son."

She couldn't look away from the father, whose quiet sobs slowed as his hands lowered from his face. For a while he looked stunned, then confused, then angry, but all the while he was quiet. Anna didn't doubt for a moment that he was attempting to work out just what Anna's words meant, and just when his son might have stopped being his son.

"He was a calm baby." the father finally said, almost bitterly, "But something changed after the first few years. No milk or toy pacified him, he cried and cried and _cried._ I don't know what changed. Maybe...maybe he wasn't..."

His thought trailed off as his eyes dulled. Was it realization that was dawning on him, or was he simply emotionally exhausted? "Everything will be alright," Anna urged gently, "everything's okay now. Now that the other one is, uh, is _gone_ your boy should be returned."

"He...he'll be a good boy again?"

"I, well, I believe your son might have been replaced by a changeling." Anna's voice was confident, but it wasn't until she glanced up at West and West nodded that she felt sure she was right, "But now that the changeling is gone, your boy should be-"

Right on cue the sound of tiny footsteps coming down the hall drew everyone's eyes. The same dark haired boy from before stood in the doorway, rubbing sleep out of his eyes. "Pappa?"

The father looked from Anna to the boy and back again before a sound somewhere between a sob and laughter rose from his throat. He rushed at the boy, arms spread wide to pull him into a hug, and suddenly the room itself dissipated. Anna and West were placed right back in the seemingly endless woods of white barked trees once again with no sign of the cabin they had been in seconds before.

"I'm surprised, I didn't think you'd made it that far in the books."

Anna scowled at West, "Lot of help _you_ were. Just staring in the mirror primping, I can't wait to tell Kris you were too busy keeping track of your appearance to give me any advice."

"Yeah, I didn't think you noticed." West chuckled, shaking her head, "You'd have figured it out so much sooner if you had just taken a cue from your partner."

"Wait, noticed what?"

"The reflection. Didn't you wonder why the glass worked?"

She would have liked to have told West that she knew her plan would work, but it had all been so spur of the moment. A half thought out attempt to stop that horrible creature from getting to her. "I..."

"The mirror was quite old, one might even say antique."

"Silver." Anna said, irritated that it had taken a hint to get her to something so simple. "Silver weakens faeries. I can't believe I didn't think of that. Since it was still young the silver must have been enough to get rid of it."

"How are your hands?"

West looked aloof. It may have been wishful thinking, but Anna got the sense that maybe she cared at least a little bit. Anna lifted her hands with palms facing up to assess the damage, but before she could look too hard West's hands were beneath her own, supporting them. Anna looked anywhere but at West's face, her hands suddenly felt incredibly hot. It was strange to be touched by someone who seemed to adamantly to dislike her.

"They hurt." Anna said with a wince as West drew a finger over one of the deeper wounds, "Will they carry over? When we get home I mean?"

West made a sound that wasn't exactly certain, "Not sure. Now that we're in here I guess I can tell you the truth of it. We're some of the first few people to try it out. At least that's what Eil says anyway."

"You and _Eil_ must be close."

"Not particularly, no."

Anna hadn't done much to hide the slight hint of anger in her voice when she spoke of Eilonwy. After all, Anna had been training under West for what felt like forever and yet still she was still Fields. "It's just, she's _Eil_. Seems like you'd have to be close to her to refer to her so affectionately."

"Affectionately?" West laughed and released Anna's hands at last, "I think you have things a little twisted, kid."

"Kid? Fields? Come on..." Anna mumbled under her breath, "Whatever, let's keep going."

She trudged along in silence, bothered that while she seemed to occasionally stumble here and there West seemed to move between the roots with ease. It came with experience obviously, West had likely been in similar terrain a thousand times, but growing up in a city didn't exactly expose one to wooded areas like these.

"Stop."

West had given the command quietly from behind her, but Anna wasn't keen on just obeying West. After all, they were here for Anna's training, not some test of whether or not they would work well together.

"Or what? It's my training and you can't just-"

An unseen force lifted beneath Anna's feet and tossed her backward, knocking the breath from her as she landed on the ground. Her eyes grew wide as she gasped for breath, stunned to see that the very earth in front of her was lifting and rolling. It looked as if the trees had come to life, as if they were pulling themselves from the ground.

"I told you to stop. I can't believe you didn't see..." West said, offering a hand to help Anna up.

Anna took the help with a quiet whimper of pain, though she was a little upset she couldn't deny that it wasn't a welcome gesture given the pain in her back from the fall. "What _is_ this? There wasn't anything about this in the books..."

"This is an entirely natural phenomenon, though I haven't seen it myself before now. Apparently in areas where trees are dense like this the roots form...well, I guess a second ground. I don't really understand the science behind it, but areas like this can make the ground look as if it's moving when the wind gets too hard. Though" West paused, looking a little concerned, "I can't hear any winds that might be causing it."

"Are we just too deep in the woods?"

"Could be, but somehow I doubt it."

They couldn't very well stay there all day, so Anna watched the trees rock and pull at the ground for a moment before plotting the best course and taking off. She moved from tree to tree as the ground swayed, careful to avoid areas that looked like they might move. Soon the edge of the forest came into sight, causing Anna's heart to leap with excitement and to spur her ever faster toward the exit.

She pushed off from one tree and headed to another, only faintly hearing West scream something behind her. Anna gripped the tree trunk tight, turning around to see where West may have gone only to see a small cloud of something black and sooty looking rising from the ground beneath her. Anna lifted her foot to see an almost minuscule mushroom crushed beneath her shoe. Then the world started to go fuzzy, the last thing she saw was the underside of the trees above her head.

XXX

"Stop!" she called, her voice strangled and desperate, "STOP!"

Time seemed to slow as Elsa watched Anna hop from one tree to the next, seemingly unawares of the impending danger she was in. Her foot landed square on the ugly little thing and the spores shot up instantly and without mercy, Elsa could tell by way her face changed that she was about to fall but there was no way to close the space between them fast enough.

"Anna!" Elsa screamed out to her, but it was too late.

Anna hit the ground hard and sent Elsa rushing toward her. The little Galer had made quick work of poor, human Anna, letting lose its' toxic spores and knocking her out in seconds. How could she have been so blind as to miss the little red-capped thing? It had been so obvious against the trees!

Elsa leaped from tree to tree, taking the fastest route regardless of the sway of the ground. She scrambled up and down the new hills of roots as they formed until she stood over Anna. With a grunt she lifted Anna up into her arms and rushed toward the edge of the forest. Her muscles burned as she fought against the movement of the ground until finally she breached the forest and the familiar endless pool of water appeared on the horizon.

"Eil!" she screamed as she ran toward the water, unsure where they had entered, "Eil open the fucking door!"

"I told you it was unstable!" Eilonwy shouted, looking worried as the door swung wide, "I told you and you just _insisted_ that it would be fine."

Elsa rushed through the open door and into the blinding light of the room Eilonwy had been observing them from, panting hard as she set Anna down in a chair. "Do you have the antidote?"

"Are you sure it carried over? Oh Elsa I _told_ you it wasn't a good idea, I just _knew_ something was going to-"

"Eil! Antidote! Now!"

Glass clinked quietly in the cabinet as Eilonwy dug, eventually producing a tiny vial of blueish liquid. Elsa hastily snatched the tiny vial and grasped both sides of Anna's face with one hand, applying just enough pressure to open her mouth and allow access for the life saving liquid to pass through. Elsa pressed up on her chin, forcing her mouth closed again before massaging her throat to coax the liquid down.

"A-are you okay?"

"Fine."

"You sure?"

"I'm fine." Elsa snapped, surprising even herself with her hateful mood.

Eilonwy narrowed her gaze and huffed at the short response, "Good thing I had you go with her, hm? She might have di-"

"Yes, good thing she wasn't with another _human_." Elsa said wryly, "She doesn't know about me yet, so not a word to her. Understand?"

"Of course not. At least now we know that things carry back here. We'll have to up the safety precautions before we send anyone else in. Are you taking her back to your pod?"

"No. I can't risk her..." Elsa paused, unable to make herself say the word 'dying.' "I'm taking her to the infirmary."

"She'll be out for a while, but when she wakes that medicine may make her a little..." Eilonwy tilted her head and made a strange expression, something Elsa couldn't discern, "well, you'll see."

Elsa couldn't recall a time when her body had hurt more. Her muscles screamed as she half ran to the infirmary, Anna in her arms. Guilt consumed her as she went over the day again and again in her mind, why had she pushed so hard to use that room? It was already her fault Anna was here, if Anna hadn't seen her partial change that night it's possible that she wouldn't have ever gotten involved with S.N.O. in the first place, and now...

 _Am I incapable of keeping anyone safe?_ Elsa wondered to herself as she watched one of the nurses run a cool washcloth over Anna's forehead. They had stripped her upon entry and washed away all the spores in one of their decontamination rooms, now she lay in a hospital gown looking more helpless than Elsa had seen her.

Elsa began the reel of memory again in her mind, wondering why she hadn't mentioned the possibility of such dangerous encounters before they had even entered the room. She knew that whatever was within would be hard to handle, Eilonwy had warned her fervently, and yet Elsa had almost played it off as if the risk was minimal. _What was I thinking?_

When the nurse took her leave she assured Elsa that Anna's breathing was shallow, but steady, and that it seemed like Anna would pull through just fine. She commended Elsa on her quick thinking to deliver an antidote, to know what to do, but Elsa couldn't shake thought that she very easily have had a second death on her hands. It was almost too much to handle.

Galer weren't dangerous to non-humans, at least as far as Elsa knew, but to a human they could be deadly. Anna had been lucky the thing was a small one, a larger one would have sent her into hysterics before stopping her heart entirely. They had been lucky the entire day, truly. Elsa cursed herself for doing such a stupidly dangerous thing with someone who wasn't nearly experienced enough. The training may have been good for her mental development, but the physical threat was just too great to outweigh.

 _Anna_ she thought to herself, _when did it become Anna?_ The first time she'd been asked to use that name, the thought had made her uncomfortable. Something about the idea of calling Anna by anything other than her last name had caused Elsa's skin to feel as if it might crawl. Then she had been firmly reminded again today. In spite of herself, in spite of her basest idea of how she should treat Anna, calling her Anna seemed right now.

Perhaps it was the intense guilt, or the knowledge that Anna was only here because of her. It could have been the talk Kris had given her, finally settling in entirely. Whatever it was, the name seemed to be the singular word for Anna in her mind. But would it be as easy when Anna woke from her sleep? When Anna was Anna again and not just someone she'd nearly gotten killed?

Elsa raised a hand up to gently touch Anna's forehead, feeling the heat resonating from her skin before she even made contact. Anna's body was likely working with the medicine to counteract the spores now, but it would still be a few hours before she rose from her slumber. She brought her hand back down to her side and leaned back in the uncomfortable hospital chair, trying to reconcile her guilt with her rationale behind choosing that particular training method. Would Anna blame her when she woke?

Hours passed slowly, painfully so, but Elsa didn't move from her place at Anna's bedside. She was responsible for her charge, so she had to be here first thing when Anna woke. The signs were subtle at first, Anna's breathing rhythm changed, then she made a small noise, then another. Elsa was on her feet in seconds, ignoring the pain in her body as she leaned over Anna, watching her eyelids flutter as they tried to open.

"Hey, you're safe in the infirmary. Try not to move too much alright?"

Anna hummed a quiet little sound, finally opening her eyes and looking around. She was obviously disoriented, but regardless she smiled a silly, lopsided smile. "Hey there."

"I...how are you feeling?"

"Warm." Anna sighed, then poking her tongue out and adding, "But not as hot as you."

Elsa's expression hardened, had the spores altered Anna's memory? Her personality? "Excuse me?"

"Don't be so mean pretty lady." Anna slurred, her smile only widening as she continued to stare, "Pretty, pretty."

Elsa couldn't contain her obvious sigh, cursing Eilonwy for not elaborating more on the side effects of the antidote. Still, better an Anna that acted like a drunken fool than the alternative.

"Hush now," Elsa gently pressed Anna's shoulders back into her pillow as Anna attempted to rise, "you need to get your rest before you really make a fool of yourself. Let me call a nurse in here to get you back to sleep."

"I think I know you." Anna's brows knitted together, as if she was thinking hard.

Elsa doubted Anna could truly process much at this stage in her healing, but still Anna appeared to be trying to remember something. "Of course you do. We work together, sort of."

"Nope." Anna giggled, "You look like somebody I met once."

Elsa froze mid-step. Was medicated Anna more mentally aware of their connection than she would normally be? Or had Anna already pieced together that Elsa was the one who had saved her that night? Elsa remained quiet, debating whether or not it would be the right thing to do to question Anna while she was in such a state, but Anna just carried right on talking without being prompted.

"She was pretty too. Pretty and strong and brave and _pretty_."

"That's...nice." Elsa finally managed as she tamped down her confusion, unsure how to proceed with this conversation. Carefully, obviously, lest medicated Anna relay some memories to sober Anna. Elsa couldn't imagine a way in which Anna knowing the truth might be beneficial for either of them. "How about we get you some water and get you back to sleep, hm?"

"No." Anna said simply, almost like a child might when a pout was beginning, but there was a clear edge of tiredness in her just like that, her eyes slipped shut again and she was out.

Hours of silence passed with only the even sound of Anna's breathing to keep Elsa company. She would have preferred it remain that way, but a familiar voice drew her from her thoughts.

"Trying to kill another one I see."

Elsa didn't have to look away from Anna to know the voice, just the sound of it made her stomach turn. "What are you doing here, Hans?"

"Word travels fast, you know. I wanted to pay our poor little Anna a visit. Shame she had to fall so ill under your watch. People are saying things, you know."

"And why should I care about the whispering of incompetent children?"

"Oh, I mean no offense of course. It's just that some are starting to believe Merida's death wasn't so innocent after all."

Elsa's face contorted as she attempted to reign in her anger. "Keep her name out of your mouth, you filthy-"

"Easy there, spitfire." Hans fanned a hand casually at her, as if wafting away the problem entirely, "Best not to get too angry in here after all, you might wake her."

"Visit then." she growled, not bothering to hide the hint of venom in her voice, "But be quick and leave us be."

"Us?" Hans laughed, taking a moment to view Anna's sleeping face with a look of discontent, "Odd, she doesn't seem the type to be interested in someone like you."

"Like me?" Elsa scoffed, "What are you insinuating?"

"Oh, nothing." Hans paused and brushed Anna's bangs out of her face before stepping back, "Nothing at all, Elsa."

He smiled a twisted little smile that made Elsa all the more angry, but before she could even prepare a retort he was heading out of the room. Despite her desire to call after him, to argue with him, she held her tongue. _Nothing but a bully_ Elsa reminded herself as calmly as she could, parroting something Merida used to say of Hans as she paced the room, praying Anna would wake soon so that they could return to the safety of solitude.

 _ **a/n: For any of you following my profile you are already aware, for the rest of you: my computer crashed a few weeks ago and I was unable to salvage any of my work. My entire computer was wiped. I have worked extremely hard to get this chapter ready early and I'll keep it up to make sure that I can maintain my posting timeline. I hate that I lost so much of my work, but it gives me a chance to review what I'd written and improve. Hope you enjoyed this chapter, see you next time.**_


	7. Hello

Chapter Seven: Hello

It was a peaceful and gentle rhythm being hummed by someone in the room that finally drew Anna from her medicated sleep. Her legs ached, as did her chest, but from what she was still a little fuzzy on. She opened her eyes and the room was blurred, but slowly coming into focus.

"W-where am I?" she croaked, her throat dry and tight.

"Hush now, deary," A squat woman in a green hospital outfit came into her line of vision. Anna could barely make out the name on the tag, Fauna, before the woman began shushing her with a smile on her face, "Mustn't wake your friend there."

Anna turned her head slightly before she was forced to press her eyes closed again, feeling dizzy at even that small motion. When she opened her eyes again a strange sight came into view. Curled in on herself in an uncomfortable looking chair near Anna's bed sat West, quietly sleeping. It was the most peaceful Anna had ever seen her, West's face looked much kinder without the ever present scowl she wore. Who could have known that she might even look the tiniest bit sweet when she was sleeping?

"You've been asleep nearly a day. She fought to stay awake to see you first thing, but I confess I slipped a little something into her water to make her rest." the little woman tittered a quiet laugh, but then seemed to remember West again and shushed herself, "Can't have both of you ill now, can we?"

"She's been here the whole time?" Anna was unable to mask the disbelief in her tone, "That doesn't sound like her at all."

"Oh yes. She brought you in. Carried you like a gallant prince carrying his princess to safety." The little woman winked at Anna, then frowned as a thought came to her. "Mind you, I don't expect anything less after what she's been through. Oh, but that's not my story to tell, I'm afraid."

Anna felt guilty as the woman shot down the question she had already primed in her mind. Obviously it wasn't right to ask about someone's past from a third party, but West was far more secretive than most. It might have been her only chance to get any information at all and it had slipped between her fingers.

"She carried me in?" Anna finally asked, deciding it was best not to push for anything else.

Fauna spoke quietly, sweetly, all the while going about checking Anna's vitals. "Oh yes. I can't believe you'd be so foolish as to tangle with a Galer young lady. Perhaps now you'll know better. And to think Miss Llyr would be so irresponsible as to let herself be talked into allowing a _trainee_ into that madhouse."

The memories slowly began to clear in her mind the more Fauna spoke to her, little pieces coming together here and there until she thought she had formed a semi-complete memory of the events that had transpired. West had saved her. If Anna hadn't just heard from her nurse that West had been sitting here the whole time she would have assumed West might have already turned in another poor report on her. Yet, West had chosen to sit here and wait.

Forgoing turning in a report was no doubt a dangerous thing to do, especially when someone had been injured. Anna shifted under her scratchy hospital blanket, suddenly feeling a little more anxious than she would have liked. What would Felix say when he heard about this? Would West be fired? Or worse, would Anna herself end up back in that sad, pathetic life she had been living before?

The sound of a sharp inhale of breath and feet hitting the floor startled Anna, who turned her head all too fast for her body's liking. She felt pain all down her back and her head pounded once or twice as her vision struggled to catch up with the reaction.

"You're up." West grumbled, shooting an angry glare in Fauna's direction.

Anna got the feeling that West was suspicious of Fauna, but Fauna just went about her business as usual, not even acknowledging that West had risen from her slumber. West's voice had sounded gruff, but Anna imagined it must be difficult for anyone to sound too cross after rising from a nap. West's cheeks were still flushed from her sleep too, a little more so on the side she had been leaning on. She looked as if she might say something else, but never did.

"So are you." Anna replied, exhaling a laugh in spite of the pain in her chest.

"I'll leave you two be, I'm sure you have plenty to talk about." The little woman practically floated out of the room, leaving the pair in a strange, awkward silence.

"She said you, uh, well, that you brought me in." Anna finally said, not sure where to even begin, or if West would even want to talk about what had happened. She'd wanted to add a little quip about being carried like a princess, but thought better of it. West might not have found it as funny as she did.

"I suppose you'd like to know what the report I'll be turning in will say." West began, her face already beginning to harden back into the familiar scowl, "My report will indicate that I coerced Eilonwy Llyr into allowing myself and my trainee access to an under-tested training area. While my trainee performed admirably in the first half, upon our attempted exit my own under-performance led to an unfortunate incident in which my trainee was severely injured. At least, that's the report Felix will hear. You and Eil be entirely left out of the blame, and free to continue training under Agent Bjorgman. After that fiasco they'll no doubt say he's the best one to continue teaching you."

Anna's face contorted in confusion. All the little pieces she had managed to reassemble didn't at all look like the picture West was painting now. She was clearly misrepresenting the facts of things, but what motive could she have behind doing so?

"That's not what happened, West." Anna insisted as fervently as she could, given her condition, "If she hadn't allowed us in then-"

"And if she _had_ while knowing the danger to us then she would be at fault as well. I won't have her punished for my misjudgment."

West was somber and clearly unhappy with the way that things had played out in the training area. Anna had never seen her express so much emotion, or act so selflessly. She wouldn't have figured West for the self sacrificing type, especially given her attitude about people she thought weren't up to snuff. In spite of that, West was practically preparing to present her head on a silver platter to their boss.

"There has to be another way. You can tell Felix that we were doing really well, that I managed to take down that changeling thing and the...the whole injury was just an unfortunate mistake. We didn't know it would be so real."

"My actions put you in that hospital bed, nearly killed you. If I hadn't been so reckless-"

"Then we wouldn't have seen just what this talented young lady can do!" came Felix's cheerful voice from the doorway, "Golly you look awful, Miss Anna, but I'm glad to see you awake. And West! What a noble creature you are, all ready to put your job and your livelihood on the line so Miss Anna here can keep on training! Brings a tear to my eye seeing how well you two are getting along."

"Felix." West's voice was stiff, more so than usual. Her plan had already been foiled, and by her own hand. "Who called you?"

"Hans mentioned Anna being ill, naturally I had to look into the matter."

" _Naturally_."

Anna looked between West and Felix nervously, unsure of exactly who would crack first. In the end, she realized that she was the one that could no longer take the silence. "So are we good then?"

"Good?" Felix finally broke his gaze at West to look at Anna again, "My dear, you were with one of our very best agents. Any of them would have made sure you got the antidote, but lucky for you West was with you. I don't imagine any other agent would have carried you straight here themselves. We are more than good, we are great. I took the liberty of reviewing the footage from-"

"Footage?" West interrupted, looking cross.

"Oh yes, surely you didn't think we'd let Miss Llyr work on something so dangerous without keeping meticulous records?" Felix asked. When West had no response for him, he continued with a small smirk, "As I was saying, Miss Anna's performance was impressive."

"Th-thanks?" Anna responded, unsure of what to say.

Felix was her boss, but here he stood condoning what West had just admitted was an unauthorized use of S.N.O. equipment. What kind of twisted dream was she having? Was she still under the spell of the, what was it Fauna had called it? A Galer?

"What about Eil?" West's fists were clenched at her side as she spoke and she looked uncomfortable.

"She'll be commended for the tremendous strides in her research, and her stroke of genius at taking some brave volunteers to test the training programming."

Felix's trademark smile was just as bright as always, it seemed to Anna that he was a little more cheerful than he should have been given that she had apparently almost died. Still, she would have to be stupid to argue knowing that everyone involved was walking away with nothing being held against them. It took a few more moments of quiet back and forth between Felix and West before she finally stopped her line of questioning and allowed him to take his leave.

In the moment of silence after his departure Anna was finally able to get a good look at West. The knees of her pants had dirt and grass stains on them as if she had fallen, her clothes were incredibly dirty, perhaps too dirty to be allowed in a medical setting. Blood had dried on her face in what looked to be scratch patterns, but Anna couldn't see any wound that might have been a source. It was obvious that West had had a difficult time getting her here alone and as far as she could see it looked like what Fauna had said was true.

"Look, I'm only going to say this the once so listen up." West crossed her arms over her chest and stared hard at her, "I put you in a situation you weren't ready for, and I'm sorry, Anna."

Anna nearly had the urge to pinch herself, because of all the things that she had thought she had dreamed today, this was by far the most unrealistic. But West looked too stoic and irritated for her to be dreaming that they were _finally_ making some progress toward being on friendly terms. West had apologized. Needlessly apologized, of course, because Anna fully understood that she had entered into that room just as willingly as West had, but still. It was an apology and the use of her name all in one sentence.

"I shouldn't have run off without you."

"You're right," West confirmed, rolling her shoulders, "you shouldn't have. But I should have been more aware of the terrain, too."

A thought occurred to Anna quite suddenly as she reflected on the memories, "How did you manage to not be affected by the spores?"

"Please." West laughed, taking a seat again, "By the time I got to you they had mostly either gone into you or been blown in the wind. You really had a good lead on me."

Anna tried and tried, but she couldn't recall just how far behind her that West had been. Obviously close enough to be somewhat heard over the creaking of the roots moving, but now West was telling her that they had been quite far apart? Far enough for those strange, soot like spores to simply blow away on a wind that they couldn't even feel while so deep among the trees? Anna wasn't buying it, but she was tired, and growing more so by the moment.

"If you say so." she said through a yawn. There was a moment of silence, during which Anna's eyes slipped shut and she just breathed, happy to be choosing to go to sleep and not forced into a sleep by some spores or medication. Quietly she mumbled, "You didn't have to stay you know. "

"I know."

By the time Anna woke West had left the room, some part of her was a little disappointed to see the chair empty and some part was relieved to be alone. A glance at her bedside table made her heart leap a little, a small postcard had been propped up against a glass of water that sat next to her. In the familiar, flowing script was another note from the mysterious 'E.'

 _'Be more careful next time, it would be a shame to lose you before you prove yourself. -E'_

Anna considered the handwriting carefully, realizing that it would be difficult to match the handwriting to a person if she never saw anyone write. Still, it was a thoughtful message to leave. Anna reveled in the silence of the room, but the sound of footsteps approaching was unmistakable. For just a fleeting moment Anna allowed herself to entertain the idea that it could be 'E,' her heart even fluttered a little faster as she waited impatiently. It wasn't to be, however, for a familiar shade of red hair was partially hidden behind the bouquet of purple flowers that made their way through the door.

"Oh, you're awake!" Hans moved around her bed, scooting the glass of water with one hand and setting the vase down with the other. He sat in the chair West had been in before, crossing his legs. "Glad to see that you're pulling through!"

Hans was smiling, but something was off about it. It was as if the intention behind the expression wasn't making its way to every part of his face. His eyes seemed distant and disinterested despite what Anna assumed was meant to be a pleasant greeting.

"Seems like I got lucky, being paired up with West, I mean." Anna mused, a genuine smile on her lips at the thought of her progress with West.

"West? Wow, still not even on a first name basis yet huh?" Hans' words matched his eyes, both bordering on cold, "What a shame. You're clearly agent material, but being on a team that doesn't want you might end up holding you back."

Anna felt her breath catch in her throat. It felt as if a ghostly fist had wrapped itself tightly around her heart and squeezed, sending a little wave of pain through her chest. His suggestion wasn't far off from what she assumed had been the truth, but she and West had made so much progress...or was she simply overlooking the faults in her team to push away the hurt of feeling like she didn't belong?

"I didn't mean to hurt your feelings or anything." Hans added, looking anything but sorry for what he had said. "It's just, I've seen _her_ go through people like you. Well, not like _you_ , exactly. You're something else entirely."

"Something else?" Anna asked, trying not to sound as dejected as she felt.

"Oh yes. You're far from being the only black soul here, but you're rare in your own way."

Rare? Anna's wheels were turning as she sat, silently pondering the implications of the word. If they were rare here, even relatively speaking, then that would mean that most of the people here weren't, well, people. Not technically speaking, anyway. Kris had told her that asking outright what someone was would be rude, but would Hans think it as rude as Kris seemed to?

Now certainly wasn't a time to fish for information, but if the opportunity was presenting itself a second time during her hospital stay then perhaps it was a sign? A sign that she shouldn't feel so guilty for craving more information about West?

"You sound like you know West pretty well..."

"I've known West since I arrived here. She was here before I was, but I was talented enough to attend the same Choosing."

"Choosing?"

"I forget, they don't tell you new recruits about the 'old' days." Hans' smile was cocky, he even flipped his hair back a little before carrying on with his story. "Before Felix came along the recruits were kept in solitary training until they were ripe for Choosing. They would gather us all together at a banquet of sorts, then the teams that existed would select the new recruits that seemed promising. Poor thing had to start a brand new team. No one wanted her."

Now that didn't sound like the West that Anna knew. The West Anna knew radiated power and competence, but Hans seemed to be weaving a different tale of her beginnings here at S.N.O. Had West really not been good enough for an existing team or was there another reason she had been left behind?

"That...doesn't seem right." Anna finally managed to say. "West is so good at everything she does, I just don't see how-"

"Fear." Hans said simply, shrugging. "Probably. That's my guess anyway."

Anna stared blankly at him now, sure that her expression was betraying her confusion. Fear? West was intimidating, sure, but to be so afraid of her that you wouldn't recruit her onto a team? Surely her usefulness would have outweighed any hint that she might not be the easiest to get along with?

The longer Anna remained silent the longer Hans stared at her, until finally his eyes seemed to light up. "You don't know." he said gleefully, leaning forward and shaking his head. "Incredible. Even with the blood of that last girl on her hands she still can't be bothered."

Anna's heart jumped into her throat at the suggestion that West had been responsible for a death, but with her own near fatal experience only just barely behind her Anna couldn't help but wonder about the circumstances behind that incident. Surely people might try to blame her for Anna's incident as well, so was his perspective formed from a twisted bit of the truth as well, or had West really been the cause of a death? Could West have also been behind her near fatality?

"What else don't I know?" Anna's response was visceral, she waited with bated breath as all feelings of guilt were consumed by her voracious curiosity. But she needed only to wait a few seconds to see that it was clear that Hans wasn't going to tell her anything more.

"I've said too much. Can't have Elsa going feral on _me,_ too." He rose from his seat and sighed before that same disingenuous smile graced his lips again.

"Elsa?" Anna tried to form the word 'feral,' but her mind couldn't grasp it before Hans replied.

"Oh dear, I've slipped again." Hans looked, and sounded, anything but remorseful about the last little nugget of information that he had let slip. "I won't tell if you won't."

He had the audacity to wink at the stammering Anna before leaving her alone with her thoughts. Elsa. Elsa West. She had been here since before Hans, but had struggled to be accepted for some reason. Was it her demeanor, or was she something inhuman? Something so frightfully inhuman that not even other non-human creatures would want to associate with her? Or was it the death that spurred the fear? Which came first?

On the other hand, Anna had to consider the idea that perhaps Hans was doing nothing more than toying with her emotions, playing with her like a cat played with a mouse before the kill. What little she knew about West, about Elsa, was much more than she knew about Hans. Elsa had saved her life, and had been willing to sacrifice her own livelihood to make sure that Anna could stay here. What had Hans done, aside from bring here to S.N.O against her will?

Anna glanced back down at the card that she still held in her hand, wondering if 'E' would ever show up and help her out for once, give her some much needed advice in her time of confusion. With a grumpy sigh and a heart full of mixed emotions Anna slipped the note up under her pillow, waiting for someone to come along so she could beg to leave.

XXX

Though Elsa looked the picture of the attentive soldier, arms stiff at her side and her spine straightened, she couldn't have been more distracted if she tried. Her mind was on the second note she had left behind for Anna in a moment of weakness. Anna would figure things out sooner or later, and how would Elsa explain herself then? _How could I be so stupid?_

Felix cleared his throat loudly, drawing Elsa's attention. "I'm thankful you've reserved this scolding for a private session Felix, but can we get on with it?"

Elsa's voice was sharp, curt, and far from the respectful tone she should have had for her superior. Still, he had put on a kind face in front of Anna and now he had called her here for some kind of dressing down. It was inconvenient, to say the least, especially when someone on her team was still in the process of recovering from a serious incident.

"Let me be quite clear, Agent West, what you did was unacceptable. Unauthorized use of a training area, bribing one of our top scientists, dragging an untested trainee into a dangerous area..." Felix had gone a little red in the face, pacing back and forth in front of her as he listed her multiple infractions out in a seemingly endless list. "But without those stupid decisions of yours we wouldn't have seen how Anna handles herself in a bad spot."

"As you said, sir."

Elsa's irritation grew by the second, surely he hadn't called her all the way here just to re-iterate his point? If he had intended to fire her then he would have done it on the spot, so what was his angle here?

Felix smiled in spite of his previously disappointed tone, "You seem on edge, Elsa. Are you eager to get back?"

"Anna is my responsibility." Elsa stated firmly.

"I see. So you're concerned for her? That's a big change from when she first arrived." A single laugh escaped him before his tone and expression became a little somber. "Have you considered that perhaps you could care enough to participate in our little experiment? If she's willing, of course."

"I don't need a pack." Elsa responded harshly, her expression hardening into an emotionless mask as the familiar acidic sting of nerves crept into her throat. "I can get by just fine on my own."

"You could improve so many lives here, let us research and learn from your experience as an Alpha and-"

" _I don't need a pack_." Elsa reiterated, her voice cold as ice and sharp as the edge of a honed blade. The translation should have been very clear to Felix, Elsa wanted nothing to do with being a research subject.

"I can see that you are still unwilling to lean my way on that topic, so I'll get back to the real reason we're here. I think that Miss Anna shows promise as an agent. Still, there is the matter of your previous report on her..."

So that was the play. Felix wouldn't bring down any punishment on her if she agreed to alter her previous report on Anna. Elsa's stomach felt sick. It wasn't quite blackmail, but it was close enough to unnerve her. He'd goaded her into behaving poorly here to have the cards tipped in his favor when he got down to the true reason for calling her in.

"I will admit that she is moving in a positive direction, but I don't feel as if she is ready for full agent status at this-"

"Are you sure you aren't letting your emotions get the better of you?"

"Of course not." Elsa failed to mention that they might have at the start, but Felix didn't need to know that. "You saw Anna in that bed just like I did, Felix. If you want to risk worse then that's on you. I won't be responsible for her getting hurt by being unprepared for the hazards of the job."

"Well we wouldn't just throw her to the wolves!" Felix sounded exasperated, then seemed to realize his wording may have been offensive and corrected his tone, "You know what I mean. What if we were to send her on a few trial missions with you, and perhaps Kristoff as well?"

Elsa considered it for a moment, quietly reflecting on their training session. Anna had had dumb luck on her side during the first half of the session. Sure she'd killed the changeling, but she'd done it without conscious knowledge that her actions would lead to certain success. Though, there was still a small chance that Anna had the knowledge inside of her from her studies and had acted on it unconsciously.

"Why are you so insistent that she be in the field now, Felix?" Elsa asked, trying not to actively regret her question right away. "Why push her out of the nest before she's ready?"

"Anna is...well, you know what she is."

"She has a black soul, so what? There's plenty like her here."

"Hans was right, you are so darn hard headed Elsa!" Felix was obviously frustrated with her now, "Have you been so wrapped up in the past that you've ignored what's right in front of you?"

"I-" Elsa was taken aback at the outright accusation. Felix wasn't characteristically known for being so blatantly...well, anything. Anything but kind, anyway. "I don't-"

"She's different, Elsa. Something inside of her is...malleable, I think that's the word Hans used."

"Hans." Elsa scoffed, trying not to think too hard on just what a man like him might mean by the word 'malleable.' "And you trust him?"

"He was willing to bring her here when you wouldn't even hear me out."

The jab stung more ferociously than Elsa imagined anything Felix could ever say might have, but he was right. Elsa hadn't ever been one to volunteer for recruiting, particularly since her own recruitment had been far less than voluntary. "So she needs to be in the field. To be tested further. So that you can see if she is whatever you think she is."

"I think it might be wise to see what she can do, even if you aren't ready to admit that she's more that ready to be an agent." Felix responded pleasantly, "Anything else we might learn about her would be a wonderful little bonus though!"

Elsa quietly considered her position. She could deny Felix, but what purpose would it serve but to anger the only person who truly held any power here? Finally, she let her shoulders relax and sighed. "If you believe that is advisable then I don't really have a choice, do I?"

"Well that's a very negative way to look at such a positive thing!" Felix smiled at Elsa, then waved a hand in the air. Something about his smile was calming, in spite of the feelings of unease that began to settle in Elsa. "I'm sure she'll be delighted to hear of her partial promotion. Oh, and Elsa?"

"Felix?"

"Who knows, she might prove to be pack material. Kristoff too."

Elsa made a sound like a low growl, stopping Felix from saying any more. The implication hung in the air though, and there was no brushing it off now. Elsa turned and stormed out in a huff, using the walk back to her pod to put the thoughts of packs aside and think hard on just what types of missions Anna would be suitable to take on.

She wasn't exceptionally stealthy, nor did she had particularly quick reflexes, so what would Anna be good for? Something low risk, of course. And if Kris was there too then surely Anna could be kept safe regardless. Whenever he made it back to them, that is.

Elsa swung open the pod door and wrinkled her nose slightly at the heavy scent of hospital that hung in the air. Anna was home, no doubt, but a normal person wouldn't know that. Elsa pretended to not notice the sterile smell and stayed quiet until Anna could see her from the couch.

"They discharged you?" Elsa asked as she peered over at Anna, raising a brow to add to the effect of her feigned surprise.

"Welcome back." Anna said cheerfully, nodding in response to Elsa's question. "Fauna said something about being in good hands here? I can just hang out in my room if I'm in the way or-"

"No, it's fine. I needed to talk to you anyway." Elsa looked her up and down. She looked well enough despite almost dying, but Elsa still felt a pang of guilt at seeing how tired Anna looked. "I've just spoken with Felix."

"Again?"

"Yes." Elsa sounded more irritated than she had meant to. It would do her no good to deliver the news to Anna so irately, so she took a second to calm herself. "He reiterated how he felt about your performance in there. Said he thought that I should reconsider my previous report on you."

Anna's eyes seemed to light up, but she was obviously trying to play it cool. She looked anywhere but at Elsa, then uttered a single word. "Oh?"

"I told him I disagreed, of course. A report shouldn't be altered once it's turned in." Elsa said, watching Anna carefully all the while.

Her face had fallen a little at hearing the news, but Anna remained silent in spite of what Elsa knew had to be at least a little frustration building inside of her. Perhaps Anna had changed a little after all, previously she might have bitten Elsa's head off at hearing those words.

"Oh." Anna finally said, almost too quietly to hear.

"We did agree however-" Anna's gaze rose to meet Elsa's, that same bright hope back in her eyes just as quickly as it had left. She was resilient, if nothing else then Elsa had to give her that. "-that you should be permitted to come on some missions with me, and Kris too if he's interested."

Anna squealed in excitement, "Oh thank you so much, Elsa, thank you, thank y-"

The emotions hit her all at once, quick and sharp like a punch to the chest. Grief and fear gripped her as phantom memories seamlessly laid themselves over her reality, but they quickly bled away and left in their place a void large enough for a feeling of betrayal to sneak in.

"What did you say?" The words tumbled from her mouth with razor precision, cutting through the sound of Anna's voice with ease.

Anna clapped her to her mouth in a flash, but she wasn't fast enough for Elsa to miss the sight of her smile shifting into a look of abject shame. "I-I'm so sorry! You never told me. I shouldn't know. But after you left Hans came to see me and-"

"Hans." Elsa hissed his name for what felt to her like the thousandth time today, each utterance causing her more and more grief than the time before. "And just why would he be talking about me when _you_ were the one in the hospital?"

"I was just saying I was lucky to have been with you in there. He just happened to let your name slip. That's all I swear!" Anna admitted quickly, fervently enough that Elsa knew she couldn't be lying about that at least.

Still, there was the little matter of what else that piece of trash had said. How much did Anna know? Elsa stepped forward, exuding power as she leaned over the couch until she was eye level with Anna. Her gaze was almost predatory when she finally spoke. "Keep in mind that not everyone here has your best interest in mind."

Guilt must have been eating her alive, because Anna's response came like lightning, "I didn't believe the rest."

Elsa softened at the words, drawing back a little now that Anna seemed to have decided to come clean. "Oh?"

"I trust you. You've been teaching me, even though I was a pain at the start. I know we didn't get off to the best start but I think-" Anna paused, then swallowed hard and looked visibly uncomfortable under Elsa's powerful gaze, "I think we're getting to be on friendly-ish terms. Maybe."

Elsa maintained her brooding expression despite her inner confusion at Anna's reaction. Anna had practically bent to her will here, no doubt telling her all the words she wanted to hear and yet they seemed genuine, kind. Anna not only seemed to disregard Hans' words, whatever they had been, she had also admitted that she ultimately bowed to Elsa's knowledge and expertise at the end of the day. To be sure it had been far from what Elsa had expected.

 _Trust_ Elsa toyed with the word in her mind. Silently she stared Anna down, looking for any sign of weakness or cracks in her kind facade. On finding none, Elsa's stomach clenched as she pondered her next words carefully.

"I know I haven't given you much reason to trust me, but thank you. You still have a lot to learn though."

Anna's laugh was soft, and she hung her head a little as she rolled her shoulders. "I know it's a long shot, but I wouldn't be opposed to learning a little more about my team leader before we start heading out on missions together."

Concern squirmed in Elsa's stomach as she debated just how much Anna should know. Just how much she was willing to tell Anna. With Kris things were easy. His personality was practically made to let him get along with anyone and everyone, regardless of their state of humanity (or lack thereof). He could sense the difference between a human and an 'other' inherently, so there had never been a need to justify herself.

Anna seemed to lack that sense, and because of that Elsa was being made to suffer the indignity of this difficult decision. Should Anna know that she was a werewolf? Would that change the way that she behaved around Elsa? Would Anna still listen and take orders once she knew that Elsa wasn't human?

For now, Elsa would have to put that aside. It was too great a decision to make here and now. What she could give Anna was her name, it would be the least Elsa could do after nearly getting Anna killed, no matter how uncomfortable it might make her at the start. So with a deep breath to shake off the memories the action stirred in her mind, Elsa extended her hand to Anna.

"Elsa West. Just West on missions, though. Understood?"

Anna's expression was blank for a moment as she looked first at Elsa's extended hand, then up at her face. It wasn't long before a wide grin spread across her face, though. She happily took Elsa's hand in a firm grip, shaking it once and nodding. "Yes ma'am."


	8. String-A-Long

Chapter Eight: String-A-Long

The night air was brisk, the scent of pine sap and earth hung thick all around her as Elsa curled up beneath the trees near their pod. Anywhere else a large wolf might attract attention, but here, just inside the tree line, she could simply exist without expectations. No one to ask her about missions, or make demands of her because she possessed something she never asked for.

It had barely been an hour since she had seen Anna to sleep, but even such a short time here had let her find some peace from the feelings Felix had shaken up in her. The quiet was serene, but all too short lived. A lazy twitch rocked her ears as the sound of a quick cadence of footsteps approaching rang out in the night.

The light breeze carried a familiar scent as it blew in, Kris was home. He was much earlier than expected and, given the quickness of his gait, he could only be sprinting. _He must be worried about Anna_ Elsa told herself, wondering if it would be selfish of her to delay his visit with her just a few minutes longer.

Elsa howled into the night the moment she could see him through the trees and the sound stopped Kris in his tracks. She watched him glance around, not a hint of fear in him. He knew the call by now, he had heard it a hundred times before and it took no time at all for him to spot her among the trees and brush. At times Elsa liked to tell herself that he knew her sound from others, but the likelihood of that was low at best. Still, it was a nice thought.

Kris jogged over to her and a look of concern washed over his face as he realized that she hadn't already changed back. He tossed his bag on the ground nearby before taking a seat near Elsa.

"Haven't seen you like this in a while. Nice night for it though."

She exhaled through her nose then lifted her head and placed it on Kris' lap. He gave her a soft smile and placed a hand between her ears, rubbing gentle circles there with his thumb. Elsa responded with a content grunt as a familiar warmth filled her chest. Kris may have been human, but he was the closest friend she had now. The only person, human or not, that she would call family. Something about him, she couldn't say what, soothed her moods and calmed her tempestuous mind.

"Felix gave me a call to fill me in, I nearly broke cover then and there. I kept my cool though and got out of there as quick as I could." Kris laughed a little, but seemed to be aware that Elsa wasn't ready to speak to him just yet and he carried on, rambling. "I don't think I've ever finished a mission so quickly. The guys were sure surprised when I jumped five steps ahead of the plan and rushed the take down, but it got me home and nobody got hurt so really I'm like a hero. I guess since you're out here then Anna must be doing much better than when Felix called?"

A pang of guilt racked through her at the reminder of her failure. If she had been more careful, more thoughtful in her plan then Kris might not have been so inconvenienced. He could have seriously injured himself trying to get back here and it was all her fault. Elsa whined, long and low, then huffed before seamlessly shifting back to human form. Her head remained in Kris' lap, and he hadn't even so much as flinched when fur turned to hair beneath his hand.

"Sorry to steal your thunder, mister white knight extraordinaire. I managed to get the antidote in her in time."

"I heard _you_ were more fitting for the role this time anyway." His voice was still tinted with concern, but he seemed happy to joke now that he had heard from Elsa's mouth that Anna was safe. "When I called Felix to let him know that we were coming home he mentioned the nurses releasing her into your care since you carried her all the way there yourself."

A thought suddenly clicked in her mind. "Ah, they were making a joke."

"What?"

"When Anna got back she said the nurse, Fauna, had told her that she was 'in good hands.' It just hit me that it was a joke."

Kris gave her a crazy look, "Speaking of things just hitting us, you're calling her Anna now? Which is definitely _not_ how I remember leaving things. I guess it wasn't as bad as I was worried it might be while I was gone."

"She's persistent, that's all. And she had the added help of our dear friend Hans. He took the liberty of spilling some information about me, so I guess she'll be using my name as well." Elsa groaned as she lifted her head from Kris' lap so that she could sit upright. "Things will be a little more casual around the pod, just like you wanted."

Elsa didn't waver under the concerned gaze Kris shot her. Though he didn't immediately say anything, she could almost feel the words he was about to say. The subtle, unspoken bond they shared was more than welcome in the wake of her recent experiences with Anna. She hadn't realized how much she missed that closeness until he wasn't at her side anymore.

"And you, I mean, are you okay with that?" Kris finally asked, a brow raised slightly.

She took a moment to think on the answer. If she were honest with herself it was difficult, but she would have to adjust. Especially since Felix seemed intent on keeping the three of them together. Still, the ghosts of her past weren't easy ones to shake. Even just hearing her own name come out of Anna's mouth so unexpectedly had been more tough to handle than she thought it should have been.

"I don't have much of a choice but to be. And-" Elsa's fist clenched tight at her side and a low, rumbling growl escaped her. "I'm not sure what else Hans told her. What he said about me. Or about what I am or-"

"Hey." Kris soothed as he placed a hand on Elsa's shoulder to ground her, "Whatever he could have said, we can handle that. We can talk to her, tell her the truth."

Elsa stiffened, "Not everyone is like you, Kris. Not everyone wants a monster for a-"

"Hey!" This time Kris' tone was more forceful, his brows knitting together in mild upset, "You're not a monster. And anyone with half a brain would be _so_ pumped to have a teammate who doubles as a bad ass pet."

"Why do I get the feeling that if you were in the real world you would have been eaten by a 'pet' you tried to keep by now?" Elsa taunted halfheartedly, pausing as she thought back to her interaction with Anna. "I don't think I'll need to worry about whatever he said for the time being. She said she didn't believe it, whatever it was."

"She just didn't believe him? Just like that?" Kris let out a low whistle. His expression could have bordered incredulous, his eyes wide at the notion that Anna had so easily put aside whatever Hans had divulged to her, "Huh."

Elsa shrugged, brushing off the small feeling of satisfaction that came to her at the memory of being told she was trusted. She couldn't count the years it had been since someone other than Kris had said those words to her and meant them.

"Anna said something about trusting me over him. Since I'm training her."

Kris raised a brow, looking puzzled. "Am I really home? Because it sounds like Anna almost dying made you guys...friends?"

"I wouldn't say friends." Elsa hastily corrected him, wriggling out from under his hand. "But she trusts me, for now."

"'For now?' Why are you talking like some ominous super villain about to unveil their hidden evil agenda?"

"She doesn't know what I am, Kris. At least, she hasn't heard it from me if she has heard anything at all. And then there's Felix..."

"Something is wrong with Felix?"

"He's-" Elsa hesitated, a knot forming in her stomach at the memory. "He pushed the idea of using the two of you as test subjects for the bond. Of course I denied him, he has no proof that his idea would work. No proof that it wouldn't hurt you. I think he goaded me into getting angry at the idea to get me to agree to allow Anna on small missions along with us."

Kris looked a mess. Angry, then a little flash of excitement, then concern all crossed his face so quickly that they could have been mistaken for a single expression. "Well, we knew he wouldn't drop the issue forever. But still, do you think he's capable of manipulating you like that? He's always been such a nice guy..."

"You can only be so nice when you have an untapped source of information that refuses to cooperate with your plans." Elsa complained wryly.

"True." Kris hesitated, reaching out to place his hand on top of hers. "You know I'd do it in a second, right? If it was you, I would."

Elsa grumbled, shaking her head. "We don't have any more information than we had when Felix tried last time. I don't know if it's safe or not, Kris. I can't lose you, too. I won't put you at risk."

Kris must have heard the slight tightening of her voice as she added the last bit, because his tone became more gentle. "You're my family, Els. With or without it. But if you ever change your mind, I'm happy to go through it with you. Better me than a stranger, right?"

She shrugged, but gave no real commitment one way or the other. Maybe a stranger would be more tolerable. At least that way if they died or went crazy or something she would only have to live with the lesser guilt of that consequence. But if it succeeded, and that was a big if, she could be stuck with someone she hardly knew in her heart and mind for the rest of her foreseeable future.

The thought of packs and monsters brought forth yet another issue that sat perched precariously at the top of her mountain of problems. "Do you remember what I told you about the night I first changed?"

Elsa could tell that her question had caught Kris off guard, he didn't even have to make a sound for her to see the confusion written all over his face.

"Yeah. You were with your friend, you saw a man attacking someone and when you went to help you ended up changing."

Elsa hummed a quiet response, "And I ran."

"Well what else could you do? Your arm just furred up and you had _claws_ out of nowhere." Kris scoffed, "Anyone would have run. No telling what a human cop might do if they saw that..."

Her stomach twisted as she ran over the information Olaf had given her the last time they had seen one another. The longer she hesitated, the more the words felt as thought they might choke her before they allowed themselves to be spoken.

Elsa swallowed, then managed to mutter "It was her."

"Huh? Her who?"

"Anna." Elsa's voice shook a little as she curled in on herself. She pulled her legs up to her chest and held tight, obviously hoping that in doing so she might expel the anxiousness that the memory brought her. Bitterly she added, "She was the one I saved. Who's life I ruined."

Kris fell silent and Elsa watched the myriad of emotion dance across his face. His brows furrowed and settled, his mouth opened and closed a few times, then at long last he shook his head slowly from side to side.

"Are you sure?"

"Olaf looked into it. I, well, I asked him to. I wasn't sure, but there was something Anna said and..." Elsa exhaled sharply, trying to stop the quickening trail of words spilling from her. "It was her."

"Does she know?"

"Of course not!" Elsa's response was angry and quick, "How do I even bring that up? Oh, by the way, remember that horrible day when you found out there were really monsters in the world? That put you on a crash course with S.N.O. and pulled you away from a normal life? That was me!"

Kris rubbed gentle circles on her back until Elsa lessened her grip on her legs and relaxed a little. He smiled, then laughed softly. "By the way, I am the thing that goes bump in night. Don't worry, I can also be really cute, too!"

Elsa swatted at him for his poor joke, but leaned into his shoulder nonetheless. "You didn't have to rush to come back, you know. I had things under control. Mostly."

"Please." Kris chortled. "I've seen your bedside manner, you're no good at treating humans. I've got the scars to prove it."

"I resent that statement."

Kris grinned, "Resent it all you want, just as long as you know it's true."

"I'm glad you're back." Elsa quietly rose to her feet, brushing pine needles off of herself before offering Kris a hand. "But we should get inside. Anna will be excited to see you."

"If you want I can pretend to have found a dog for the night, find out what Hans told her."

Elsa would have been lying if she said that the thought hadn't crossed her mind, though she was glad Kris had been the one to suggest it and not her. "What kind of dog is _that_ big? Besides, with all the other secrets I'm keeping from her would it really be wise to add another layer of deception?"

"Maybe not, but wouldn't you get at least a little satisfaction knowing what that worm has been saying about you?"

"Honestly-" It wasn't that she didn't want to know what he was saying, after all he was saying those things to people under her direct supervision, but somehow it just seemed to be a passing worry. "I guess I just don't care. Or maybe I can't care. It's been a long, stupid battle with him since the first day."

"Some men have more to compensate for than others." Kris said, motioning in the general vicinity of his groin. When the action drew a laugh from Elsa, he smiled widely. "But maybe you're right. No use listening to something that doesn't have any merit, yeah?"

"Yeah."

 _She trusts me_ Elsa reminded herself, hating how much more vulnerable that thought made her feel. _How long is too long to wait?_

XXX

It had been nearly three weeks since Kris' return to them and at long last Anna stood at the precipice of her first real mission. It wasn't at all what she had expected, nor anywhere close to what she had dreamed, but she would take it all the same. She had reviewed her alias over and over until she knew her story backward and forward, until she could easily able to slip into and out of the role that she had to play.

 _It will be fine_ she told herself for the hundredth time, _You've trained day in and day out for this._ Still, anxiety refused to let loose of her. Maybe it was because it was her first chance to really prove herself, or maybe it was because she wasn't sure that she could. Anna thumbed the edge of the jacket nervously, trying to focus on the night ahead.

At the sound of both bedroom doors opening in tandem, Anna started. Sheepishly she dropped her hands to her sides, hoping neither of them could tell just how nervous she was. Kris was dressed pretty simply in ripped, dark wash jeans and a a white tank, his hair all mussed in a way that Anna hadn't seen before. His muscles seemed to glisten even in the subpar lighting of the room, making Anna wonder if maybe he had oiled himself up before their trip out.

Elsa on the other hand looked much more the part of a punk, or something punk adjacent. Tight black pants and a leather jacket that half concealed a shirt advertising some obscure band, a few piercings that Anna was pretty sure were fake, and a shock of electric blue running through her braided hair.

The moment Elsa noticed Anna she made to close the distance between them, reaching a hand toward Anna's cheek.

Anna flinched, taking a step back. "W-what are you-"

"Stay still." Elsa chastised, from here Anna could see the subtle makeup around Elsa's eyes. Had she always worn makeup, or was this part of the disguise? Should Anna have done a little more to get into her character too? "If I don't set this earpiece correctly you won't be able to hear us."

 _Earpiece, right_. _Obviously._ Anna reminded herself, mentally kicking herself for reacting the way she had.

"Do you think we'll be able to get the right information tonight?" Anna asked, her stomach knotting nervously.

Elsa hummed quietly in response, though the sound was more noncommittal than anything she could have said. "How's that?"

"A little s-strange." Anna stammered, startled by the sound of Elsa's voice inside of her head.

"Want to go over your story again?" Kris whispered from across the room, sounding clear as day in Anna's ear.

"Penny VonSchweets, a racer from northern Corona." Anna recited, "Looking for someone to keep on my arm at the racetrack. But what about you two?"

"You won't know us in there." Kris retorted, "But I guess it couldn't hurt. I'm Sykes, body guard to the fabulous Blue."

"Blue?" Anna questioned, obviously confused.

"Hold still." Elsa huffed, blowing a gentle current of air up to get her bangs out of her face as she worked. "I'm Blue."

"Why does Blue need a body guard?"

Elsa rolled her eyes, pausing her adjustments of Anna's earpiece to look at her condescendingly. "No reason that you would need to know about."

"What about the mission? Do you remember it?" Kris fiddled with the car keys, in contrast to Elsa's cool demeanor he seemed to be brimming with energy.

"Gather information. Do not engage the target if we find them."

"Because?" Elsa asked, a careful and deliberate inflection of seriousness in her tone.

"Because they've killed at least two pretty, young women?"

"Young, anyway. Keep your wits about you and make sure you remember that if you refuse to listen to our orders in there you're putting your life in your own hands." Elsa sighed as she straightened up and adjusted her jacket. "Oh, and I feel this goes without saying, but mind your drink."

Anna had been told they would be stationed at a place called Pleasure Island, but hadn't been told much else about the place. If they had told her that it was a high end strip club she might have believed it, but the place was far from pleasurable in her eyes. Outwardly there wasn't much indication that the place was even there, but the inside looked as if a haunted house had thrown up all over a bar.

"Oh, I forgot to mention that this isn't a human bar." Kris' voice rang in her ear.

She could tell by the rasp in the words that he was whispering, in spite of the thumping bass of a song she hadn't heard before ringing in the air around her. She wasn't sure how someone could manage to forget to mention such a fact, but a creeping suspicion began to gnaw at her as she feigned a smile and flagged the bartender down. _Will they all know we're humans?_

The advances came almost instantly, as Elsa and Kris had warned during her training. Anna easily fielded the flirtatious people who approached, all while carefully pretending not to hear the voices of her counterparts in her head. By the sound of it, Kris was playing pool with some rowdy guys. Elsa's voice was quieter though, and she seemed to be fielding her own advances. The words that the woman spoke to Elsa, and the ones sent back her way, were enough to make Anna's face flush.

As the hours dragged by, uncertainty began to creep up inside of her. When she had managed to get the topic of conversation on vampires, none of her suitors had seemed terribly interested in staying on it. It was as if they were nervous, either that or they thought she was some kind of weird fetishist. Was a bar really the most well thought out place to gather information, or was Anna just bad at this sort of thing?

"Penny?"

Anna whirled on her bar stool half expecting to see Kris behind her, but instead there was a stranger. He was a little portly with strangely colored eyes and a very toothy smile, but otherwise unremarkable.

"Excuse me?"

"I said 'penny.' As in, a penny for your thoughts?"

Now that he was speaking Anna picked up on a drawl in his voice. He wasn't from this area, which might have been suspicious if a majority of the other people she had spoken with tonight hadn't also been from out of town.

"Oh."

"Seen all them boys sniffing around you earlier, must have been a hard thing to sit through." The man hefted himself onto the stool next to Anna with a little huff. He made some little motion at the bartender and drink was set in front of each of them immediately. "Little whelps ain't got a clue how to treat a lady. Name's Sheriff."

"Penny." Anna said, trying not to appear wary of the drink that he had ordered her. She had to remain calm, just like with all the others. For all she knew, he was the key to getting the information they needed.

"Well no wonder you spun 'round so quick!" He laughed, the sound gruff and rumbling, "Don't think me rude, Miss Penny, but you don't seem to have anyone here with you. Be a shame if a pretty lady like you had to get home all by herself. Got me a car out back, I'd be happy to escort you home if and when you need it."

"How kind of you, Sheriff." Anna said, finding that she was having to focus to carefully enunciate her words.

The longer she let the sound of his name sit on her tongue, the more uncomfortable she began to feel. His smile never fell despite her ambiguous rejection of his offer, instead his eyes seemed to brighten a shade or two. The color of them was unsettling to say the least, sitting somewhere between yellow and a bright, spring green, but the longer she feigned a smile the more strangely compelled she felt to remain there with him.

Something was slowly creeping it's way into her mind, making her head feel a little fuzzy and her senses less sharp. She hadn't touched the drink he had ordered her, so there was no way that was it. He hadn't acted strangely or touched her either, but something was obviously making her feel wrong. Or was it all in her head?

"Well, I do pride myself on being a kind guy." Sheriff grinned, taking a long draw from his glass. "Tell old Sheriff a little more about you, Penny."

"Oh, I'm from Corona. The north." Anna answered instantly, almost surprised by how quickly her words tumbled out, "I just love racing. The smell of the fuel burning, the roar of the engines, it's just so-"

"Intoxicating?"

"Yeah."

"You don't look much like a bar fly, Penny, if you don't mind me saying. What are you doing in a place like this?"

"I-" Anna pinched her leg hard, attempting to sharpen her dulled senses. _Get it together, Anna. There's a mission at stake here._ "I must confess, I'm looking for someone exciting to keep me company."

"That so? 'Fraid I'm not so exciting myself." Sheriff said as a wide, cheeky smile took over his face, "'Less you count going toe to toe with a real and true murderer!"

There was no way of telling if he was self aggrandizing or if he was telling the truth, but she had to try to get more information just in case this was the real deal. _If he's telling the truth and I miss this chance they'll never let me live it down_.

Anna leaned toward him, batting her eyes as she placed a hand on his leg, "Really? Oh Sheriff, please tell me the story. Would you? Please?"

Sheriff visibly straightened up in his stool at even the gentlest touch, his smile turning just a tad predatory. Even with her mind feeling muddled it was still easy to play a man who wanted attention.

"Little miss, you best buckle in because this is a wild ride!"

Sheriff leaned in so close that Anna could smell the booze on his breath as he regaled the tale to her. Truth be told, it didn't seem that wild a tale at all, but Anna did her best to focus her mind on what he was telling her and not on the growing feeling of discomfort building in her stomach.

"-so I'm sitting at the bar, minding my business you know? The guy storms in muttering under his breath and so I says, I says 'Buck up, kid, you're bringing down the mood!' and he swings on old Sheriff! I couldn't let it stand, we had an all out brawl right there in the-"

"Mighty far from home, aren't you Sheriff?"

Elsa's voice was sharp and unfamiliar as it echoed in her ear, but Anna found that quite suddenly the haze in her mind began to clear. Anna did her best to look concerned at the sight of Elsa gripping the shoulder of her suitor tightly enough to make him wince, but she couldn't help the small nod she sent Elsa's way. A silent gesture of thanks for stopping whatever was happening.

"Doesn't take you long to come sniffing around a pretty lady, does it?" Elsa huffed, roughly pressing Sheriff back onto his stool as he tried to rise from it. "Act natural, big boy. I'm not here for you. Not tonight, anyway."

"Why, Blue, I'm heartbroken. You know me better than that!" Sheriff sounded indignant, but the look he and Elsa shared told Anna that there was much more to their relationship than either was willing to let on in front of her.

"Sounds to me like you've got some information that will help me find who I _am_ looking for though. Why not let that slip, huh?" Elsa's words were just on the edge of being a growl, her eyes narrowed at him as she scrutinized his expression. "He's got a debt to settle. He can't come after you for something I overheard you telling a lady while you were trying to woo her, right? Or would you rather have me wring his debt out of you instead?"

Sheriff visibly shrank in his stool, and Anna couldn't blame him. The look Elsa was giving him might have made Anna wither beneath it just the same. "Last I seen that weirdo he was muttering something about the trees enjoying the bodies he was leaving them up north. You know that ain't my scene, Blue."

"It might as well be, you weasel." Elsa hissed, her lip curling in disgust as she roughly shoved his shoulder before releasing him. "As always, you haven't seen me and I haven't seen you."

"Right kind of you, ma'am. Now, if you'll excuse me, I've been neglecting poor Penny here." Sheriff's demeanor visibly relaxed as he seemed to realize that his conversation with 'Blue' was at an end, he even feigned tipping a nonexistent hat in her direction before rounding on Anna again.

"Penny, huh?" Elsa's tone was curious she slowly dragged her eyes up and down Anna, a hungry light behind the piercing blue. She offered Anna a hand and a coy smile "Wouldn't you rather have some fun with me, instead?"

Anna's heart involuntarily fluttered in her chest at the unfamiliar, sensual tone in Elsa's voice. She was speaking to Anna the same way she had spoken to the other woman earlier in the evening, but having it directed at her made it feel all the more strange, and powerful. Every syllable had been carefully laced with unspoken innuendo. Even in such a high pressure situation Elsa's smile was charming and attractive all at once.

Anna froze, her mind unable to will her body to move. But then Elsa made a small 'come hither' motion with her fingers accompanied by the smallest raise of a brow and Anna complied. A flustered little exhale escaped her before she slid obediently out of her seat and took Elsa's hand.

It was all more impressive than Anna was willing to admit. The whole situation was a strong reminder of just how far Anna still had to go, how much she had to learn before she would truly be agent material. Elsa wrapped her arm around Anna's shoulder and she gave the Sheriff a little mock, two fingered salute before guiding Anna toward the dance floor.

The pair easily slipped in among the dancers, blending in to the mass of bodies and oppressive heat. Once hidden away in the center, Elsa roughly grabbed Anna's hips and brought them face to face. A brief flash of an apologetic expression crossed her face before Elsa began to dance against Anna, and the instant Anna felt their bodies pressed together she more than understood the look Elsa had given her.

 _How does she make this look so easy?_ Anna thought to herself, finding her body was responding to the signals that Elsa was faking as if they were real. Keeping her expression pleasant was made all the more difficult by Elsa, who lowered her face to nuzzle in the crook of Anna's neck.

"Are you okay?" Elsa whispered, her breath uncomfortably hot on Anna's skin.

"I-" Anna fought the urge to pull away and regain her composure, reminding herself again and again that they had roles to play here, "Fine."

"How were you fighting off Sheriff's power?" The question was insistent, urgency in Elsa's tone despite their continued dancing.

"He had powers? No wonder I felt so weird."

"You had no idea, did you?" Elsa laughed softly against her neck, "I should have known."

"I didn't even realize he wasn't...I mean I should have known he wasn't human but, what is he?"

"A hybrid, to be gentle about it. Mild persuasion type powers, usually only strong enough to affect humans. I'm impressed that you were able to resist."

The way Elsa phrased her explanation struck Anna as strange, but she set the thought aside for the time being. She had bigger issues to be concerned with than Elsa's verbal nuances. "I thought you said I was on my own?"

Elsa pulled back from Anna just enough to give her a serious look, "If you did something you shouldn't have, sure. But we could tell by the way you were talking that something was up."

Anna began to wonder how many times she would have to be in such close, intimate proximity with another agent before she got used to the feeling of it, before she was as fearless and uninhibited as Elsa, but the heat and pressure of another body pressing against her from behind brought her back to reality. Fear gripped her tight, but a glance at Elsa's expression told her that she had no need to be worried about it.

"Ready to roll, Blue?"

Kris' voice was a relief, though Anna had to hold in her own amusement at the fact that somehow an information gathering mission had turned into some kind of strange agent sandwich. Still, they had been successful, so the embarrassment was well worth it if it meant that she could mark her first real mission down as a success.

 _ **a/n: See you all again in (hopefully) less than a month!**_


	9. Fearless

Chapter Nine: Fearless

Much to Anna's chagrin, she had been informed that despite her success at gathering information with her teammates she would still not be allowed to help with the next portion of the mission. Words like 'dangerous' and 'mortal peril' had been used in the explanation that Felix had passed down, but Anna couldn't bite back the sneaking suspicion that she hadn't been considered as useful as she could have been on their last mission.

She should have been happy, truly, at Felix's insistence with commending her in person after her first mission, but she couldn't even manage to see Elsa and Kris off today. They were leaving for an exciting mission and she was holed up in an on-site coffee shop. Sullenly she brooded over a cup of now lukewarm coffee.

"That's not the face I'd expect to see on someone who just completed a mission successfully. And without agent status at that."

The voice was all too familiar, Anna didn't even have to look up from her cup to know that it was Hans. She didn't dignify his poor attempt at conversation with a word, much less a glance, but Hans didn't seem to want to take no answer as an answer.

"I'm surprised, really. I thought for sure Elsa would have sabotaged you somehow, distracted you during your mission or something." Hans said as he pulled the chair across from her out, taking a seat without even asking. "She's notorious for stuff like that, you know."

"She didn't distract me." Anna snapped, though she had to clench her hands into tight fists under the table to fight the heat that threatened to rise into her cheeks.

Maybe Elsa hadn't directly distracted her, but she had been flirtatious while she was Blue. Anna knew that all the words, all the looks and actions were to keep up appearances, but she found it difficult to shake the memories and the conflicted feelings that they stirred in her. Maybe she was just hungry for company, someone to touch and hold even in a platonic way. This new job paid well, but thus far it was proving to be a lonely line of work.

"Seems like something is distracting you now." Hans leaned on his elbows, bringing his face closer to hers over the table so he could lower his voice, "I take it you're upset they left you behind for the big take down?"

Anna couldn't help herself, she finally broke and raised her gaze to meet his before she shot him a heated glare. "Felix came to me himself after the mission to tell me how well I did, but I'm not an agent yet so I couldn't help with this part. That's the only reason I'm here and they're there."

Hans rolled his eyes, then leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms over his chest. "You know, if you would stop being so utterly dense, not to mention _rude_ , for just a moment you might put the pieces together and figure out that I came here to let you in on a little secret."

"A secret?" Anna's expression softened. Her curiosity was piqued, but this felt very much like a trap. "What kind of secret?"

The very corner of Hans mouthed turned upward, the start of a smile. His eyes shone with mischief, but whether or not his intent was malicious Anna couldn't tell. "The kind that would let you show them what you can do, to prove yourself."

The words sat like a stone in her stomach and her throat felt suddenly dry. She reached out with both hands and took a long drink from her nearly cold coffee before she spoke again. "And what do you expect in return for telling me this secret?"

"You wound me, Anna." Hans raised a hand to his chest and let it rest over his heart, as if he was hurt by her words. "Can a friend not help another friend without expecting something in return?"

"I wasn't aware that we were friends." Anna's words were stiff, but still polite. As much as she disliked him, the promise of truly proving herself on a real mission wasn't something she could let go of so quickly. "But I guess you're right. Friends can help one another."

Hans spent the next half hour carefully detailing everything that she had been denied access to. Information about the vampire they had been gathering information on, how many victims he was really suspected of killing, their suspicions about why he was killing, and information on just where Elsa and Kris had been sent.

Their destination was, somehow unsurprisingly, a large ball being thrown by their suspect. It would be the key to Anna's future here at S.N.O. he said. And all Anna would have to do to secure her place as an agent, with a glowing recommendation from Felix's self proclaimed right hand, was to accompany Hans as a date to the ball.

The thought sickened Anna, who barely hid her disgust behind her cup. Still, the thought of showing Elsa, Kris, and Felix what she was really made of was exciting. But at the edge of that excitement there was suspicion of Hans and all that he seemed to be.

"Why me?" Anna asked, arching a brow questioningly at him. "There are plenty of other, well trained female agents that could accompany you. Even men, if you're secure in your masculinity. But here you are in a coffee shop trying to convince someone who is still new, not even an agent..."

Anna had to give him credit, Hans didn't seem flustered in the least by the question. "And none are half as beautiful. I wouldn't be seen with a dog on my arm, Anna. Not even for a cover."

"At least you're honest." She muttered, rolling her eyes.

"So? Will you accompany me and take your rightful place as an agent?" Hans asked, putting a strange emphasis on the word 'rightful.' "Or will you do as the last plaything Elsa kept and cower in her shadow?"

"I'm no plaything." Anna's brows came together, her face hardening somewhat at the implication he had made. "And Elsa isn't keeping me."

"Then you will?"

"I-" Guilt twisted in her stomach as she hesitated. "What if we can't...?"

"I don't fail missions." Hans scoffed, "No matter the cost."

He was all but assuring success and though Anna's mistrust for him may not have been put aside just yet, she couldn't help but feel the infectious nature of his confidence creeping into her. She could practically see the result of this little escapade, and the little fantasy playing in her head brought a small smile to her lips.

XXX

What they had heard of the party they were to attend paled in comparison to the real thing. Elsa wasn't one to believe the stereotypes about non-human creatures, but at the sight of the sprawling home nestled in the tall pines ahead of her she couldn't help but wonder how some young blooded vampire had managed to amass such wealth so quickly.

But not even the glory of the well manicured lawn and perfectly picturesque home could have prepared her to literally walk into a ballroom upon entry. The ceilings were high, higher than it seemed they physically should be, and for a passing moment she had to wonder if it was a trick of the architecture or if the vampire was conspiring with some kind of illusionist to lure humans here.

Dressed in a deep cerulean gown with slits up either side, Elsa strode confidently across the floor. Though her hair being free from the typical braid she wore it in made her uncomfortable it didn't show in her actions, she smiled warmly at any person showing her interest and spoke highly of the beauty of her surroundings. After all, any one of them could have been the host. Any one could be the killer.

To Elsa's surprise most of the guests seemed to be human, at least according to her nose. None thus far carried the stench of stale blood on their breath, just bad wine and cigar smoke. In fact, in the few hours that she and Kris had been on the ground here no one had even so much as looked suspicious. Elsa wondered briefly if their intelligence might have been flawed, but the entrance of a gaunt looking man flanked on both sides by beautiful women told her that they were undoubtedly in the right place.

Carefully she weaved her way through the crowd, lingering by the wait station that Kris was currently blending into. She parted her lips to whisper their decided on code word to get his attention when something caught her eye. It was brief, but the flash of red was unmistakable.

"Fuck." Elsa muttered to herself.

"You okay?" The sound of Kris' voice in her ear was as crisp as if he were standing next to her, but it was not as comforting as she would have wanted it to be.

"Seems there's a worm among men." Elsa casually muttered, plucking a glass of white wine from the tray of a nearby server before taking a long draw from it and trying to calm her nerves. "And he's brought a friend."

The sight of Anna on Hans' arm had been startling to say the least, but she hadn't expected to feel as if she had swallowed a stone. She could practically feel her nerves bundling up as she tried to reconcile their presence with the plan she and Kris had so clearly defined. If anything happened that required Elsa to transform, this wrench in the gears would stop her cold.

 _I hear you, universe._ Elsa thought wryly, _I should have told her sooner._

Between offering this lady or that gentleman a drink, Kris managed to curse under his breath. "Who the fuck does he think he is?"

"The golden child." Elsa whispered against the rim of her glass as she took another drink, trying hard to keep her eyes from training back to Hans and Anna. "He can do no wrong."

"Bait, you think?" Kris asked, finally reaching Elsa in the crowded room and inclining his head with a respectful bow as he took her empty glass and gave her a fresh one.

"I doubt he would have it any other way. The question is why?"

Elsa raised her glass toward him in a thanks, but then he disappeared back into the crowd to serve more patrons. It would be up to Elsa to alter their plan to work around Hans and his treacherous ways, but the 'how' of it would be the real challenge. The idea that he might be attempting to use her trainee as bait boiled her blood, but that was a fight best reserved for a time when there weren't so many other potential victims around. As much as it pained her, Elsa couldn't risk the mission to confront him.

By the time the party had begun to wind down, Elsa had already slipped away to change and tie back her hair. Then she procured a hiding spot, positioning herself for the ensuing take down behind a large clock at the end of a hall. Kris still periodically muttered reports into her ear, though his information was coming more infrequently as the wait staff begun cleaning up. Fewer guests meant sparse staff in the ballroom, which in turn meant no eyes on their target.

Elsa steadied her breathing, then closed her eyes as she focused on the sounds echoing through the massive halls. Footsteps, two people. She could hear a man chuckling low, no doubt as he laughed at something his companion had said, but the next sound made her eyes snap open instantly.

"Where are you taking me, hm?"

Despite the gentle slur, likely the result of one too many champagnes, Anna's voice was easily recognizable. Their plan had begun falling apart the moment Anna and Hans had shown up and now she would have to make a difficult decision: jump in and save Anna as soon as possible no matter the cost, or attempt to rescue Anna without utilizing her powers?

She watched with keen eyes as the man led Anna toward a wall. At least, it appeared to be a wall. He raised an arm and tapped the bottom of a light fixture and the wall began to sink. Elsa couldn't help the roll of her eyes at the ridiculousness of the situation she found herself in, had this man no shame? No sense of how to not be a walking stereotype?

Elsa waited patiently as he led Anna through the newly created doorway, muttering sweet nothings at her under his breath and receiving little giggles in response. How long the path would stay open was anyone's guess, but Elsa had to decide just how long she would give him before following.

There was no doubt that her communication with Kris would be cut off, so she whispered a few quick words to him before starting to slowly shift herself, preparing to run for the door. She wanted as wide a berth as she could manage between herself and the man, but there was no way to be sure how long she had before the wall would start to rise again.

As if in response to her indecision, the sharp, acrid smell of blood hit her full in the face. There was no time to waste, not if Anna was to be kept alive and human.

"I'm going in." she muttered as she launched herself toward the wall, vaulting over it as it began to rise and hoping beyond hope that Kris had heard her.

Her heart raced in her ears as she ran over scenario after scenario in her mind, unsure of which would be the most successful to apprehend him now that he had a hostage. There was no way to know what was in the path ahead, but Elsa followed the strengthening smell regardless. A soft gasp, identifiably female in origin, followed by a manic chuckle from their suspect settled Elsa's mind on a plan.

She barreled down the remainder of the stairs and found herself at the mouth of what looked to be a dungeon. The only source of light was a series of torches along the outer walls of the room, illuminating the whole area in a sickly yellow glow.

In the center was a wooden chair, to which Anna was bound. She struggled against a gag, but appeared otherwise unharmed. The same could not be said of the woman that he held in his arms, a wide gash on her shoulder dripped blood rhythmically to the stones below.

"What an unpleasant surprise."

His voice was droll, but entirely unimpressed. He smiled, and a chill shot down Elsa's spine. The blood on his lips was perfectly visible, he had no shame in what he was doing at all.

"Put her down and nobody has to get hurt." Elsa inched closer to him, trying not to appear terribly concerned as she locked eyes with Anna across the room. "You can still come with me peacefully."

As Elsa neared she could see that a tie had been stuffed between Anna's teeth, and that she was bound with coarse, thick ropes that held her firmly in place. Elsa had heard whispers of superhuman vampiric speed, but she couldn't see a way that she would have left him enough time to do this alone. Her hair stood on end as she realized that she could be looking at facing two vampires alone, with two very vulnerable victims in harms way and a strong incentive not to utilize her true strength.

"Peace?" He asked, eyes glassy with some terrifying mixture of mirth and mania, "I am simply living as I must. Can you punish me for that? For wishing to be alive?"

"I won't ask again." Elsa reassured him, her fist clenching and releasing at her side as she prepared for the fight to come. "Will you comply?"

He responded with a dark chuckle, his eyes flashing in the light of the room as he dropped the woman to the floor with a sickening crack. "You have no power here."

As he spoke he circled behind Anna, who now looked very much like a deer in the headlights. The fear was evident on her face, her whole body shaking as his hands gripped her shoulders tight. She was truly terrified. Elsa's body tensed at the sight, knowing that with a single movement he could probably snap Anna's neck.

Her options were few and far between, but the choice was an easy one to make. In a flash Elsa closed the distance between them, leaping over the chair and colliding with her target. The pair of them rolled across the floor, grappling with one another in a brutal struggle for power as the sound of Anna's chair toppling to the floor echoed in the chamber.

Her arms shook as she held his hands at bay, just barely keeping him from reaching her throat. Though she was stronger than the average human she was no match for a vampire in a blood lust state, but with Anna so close by she couldn't risk changing. It had to be a last resort, only if the situation was completely dire.

"Fuck." she cursed, more at her choice to not speak with Anna sooner than at her current situation

"Give up, dog." He hissed, his eyes now giving off a faint red glow as he smiled down at her.

"How original." Elsa grunted, redoubling her efforts to shove him off of her. "Get your material from the 'So You Want to Look Like an Ancient Vampire?' handbook, did you?"

The little taunt enraged him and Elsa immediately regretted her snide remark as he wrested his arm from her grip and landed a solid punch to her jaw. The pain shot through her like lightning, drawing out a groan from low in her throat, but she had no time to recover before he attempted a second strike. Elsa grasped his fist as it fell, just barely stopping it in place.

"Going to let a dog win this fight?" She hissed, watching as his eyes moved to her mouth where she could feel blood dribbling down her cheek.

"So you do bleed." His voice was almost mesmerized as he spoke, staring down as if she were the most rare, endangered creature in the world. "Fascinating. I can't wait to drain you dry."

"Oh come on, get some new material." Elsa huffed, using his distraction to press for the advantage.

She let his fist fall to the ground at the side of her head, then landed a firm punch right to his chest. Following the strike up with a prompt knee to the groin seemed only logical. As her opponent reeled in pain Elsa quickly shoved him off balance and rolled away. She hopped to her feet and ran back to Anna's chair, righting it with a grunt.

"Get Bjorgman. He may be in the servants quarters, I'm not sure. Just find him, _quickly_." Elsa's voice was urgent, edging on fearful despite the confidence she tried to exude. "As soon as you're free I need you to run, Fields."

 _If I'm afraid it's just because she's here, keeping me from changing._ Elsa told herself, deftly working to untie the knots that bound Anna. _Once she's out of here I can take him. I can explain everything later._

The moment Anna's hands slipped free, she grabbed the tie from her mouth and tossed it to the ground angrily.

"I can fight." Anna growled, a fierce fire burning in her eyes.

"Fields! You have to-" Elsa sternly whispered, but her sentence was cut short as a sharp, piercing pain shot through shoulder. "Ah-"

"That's my plaything, little doggy." He taunted, cackling wildly as he yanked hard on the dagger that he had driven into her flesh.

 _There's no time._ "Please, get...Bjorgman..." But even as she finished her sentence she could feel the familiar sensation of muscles adapting to accommodate the coming form. Teeth to fangs, mouth to muzzle, all in a matter seconds.

Anna's eyes widened at the sight, the righteous fire that burned so brightly there a moment before snuffed out in an instant. She looked fearful, more so than Elsa expected her to, and it cut her deeply to see that look on Anna's face again. The guilt would have to be put aside for now though, she could explain it all later. After.

Anna could only watch helplessly as Elsa grew right in front of her, changed into something altogether as horrifying as a murderous vampire, if not more so. Elsa tried to look apologetic, even tried to say that she was sorry, but the words came out a guttural growl that sent Anna fleeing up the stairs.

When Elsa rounded on her opponent, he seemed to have finally realized that she was a more dangerous type of 'dog' than he had thought. His smile faded the instant she began advancing on him, easily closing the distance between them. Clawed fingers closed around his collar as she lifted him from the ground, his feet dangling as if he were a child's toy in her massive paws.

He slashed at her again and again with his dagger, but the blows either fell short or just barely grazed her. Glancing blows, easily ignored in her state of fury. Elsa growled, the sound rising from deep in her chest as she used her other hand to grasp his wrist. The dagger fell to the ground with a clatter, and the madness that had overtaken the vampire seemed to bleed from him in an instant.

"Please." He whimpered, clearly considering the reality of his mortality as he stared down the toothy muzzle of a true monster. "I can't help what I am."

It didn't take much thinking or debate for her next move. The man had killed too many, and on top of his heinous crimes he had forced Elsa's hand. Forced her to reveal herself when she hadn't been prepared to. Her lips curled back in a sneer, and with one final strike she knocked him out cold.

XXX

By the time Anna had reached Kris she could barely find the words to explain what she had seen, what had happened, but somehow he seemed to understand nonetheless. He had urged her to stay back after she had pointed out the secret passage entryway, though she followed slowly after him anyway.

"West!" Kris sounded stern, but wary. "Are you alright?"

"Cuff him. Please."

Elsa's voice was ragged, pained, and when Anna finally made it to the bottom of the staircase the reason was clear. As if a knife in the shoulder hadn't been enough the evidence of Elsa's scuffle with the vampire had already begun to appear. Elsa's cheek was dappled with color, bruises already beginning to blossom under her skin. Elsa's newer wounds bled freely, but no one seemed to be concerned with them.

Anna wanted to reach out, to help Elsa tend to the other woman who had been lured to the dungeon, but uncertainty about her future kept her firmly planted where she stood. Panic set in as she grew more distraught, and the rest of the night was a blur. By the next morning she couldn't even recall how she had managed to get to her bed.

Before she could even rise, another small note card with familiar, flowing script caught her eye and brought her back to reality.

 _'You said you trusted me, time to prove it. -E'_

She had barely had time to get dressed, let alone process the cryptic note, before hearing a soft knock at her door. Anna tensed instinctively at the sound, her body reacting as if she might still be in danger despite her safe surroundings.

"Anna? We need to get going..."

"Going?" Anna asked, prying the door open to see Kris standing alone.

"You were under duress last night, I'm not surprised you don't remember but..." Kris' eyes were alight with shame, "Felix needs to see us all."

Elsa's name was on the tip of Anna's tongue as she glanced behind Kris, but the look on his face told her that now wasn't the time to be asking questions. So, she accompanied him in silence to the main complex where she had first met Felix, where she had been pulled away from her normal, boring life and into this world of wonder. A nagging thought at the back of her mind callously reminded her that it could very well be the place where she forgot all about this new life of hers and went back to minding tables.

"Wonderful of you two to join us." Felix said, his smile just as bright as ever despite his more serious tone.

Anna searched Elsa's face the moment she laid eyes on her, looking for any sign of distress. Elsa stood in a wide stance, hands held together behind her back, looking very much like a soldier awaiting orders. No trace of nervousness, and no trace of the bruising that Anna had seen the night prior. Had she imagined it? If so, how much had been her imagination, and how much had been reality?

"Agent West." Felix looked a little disappointed when he leveled his gaze to Elsa, "Would you care to explain how for a second time in a span of mere weeks a trainee has managed to nearly die under your watch? Why despite all of us being in agreement that she should be held back from this mission she somehow managed to not only make it to the location, but be captured by our suspect?"

Anna watched Elsa stand still as a statue out of the corner of her eye as guilt bubbled up in her stomach. It hadn't been Elsa, but Hans who had convinced Anna to go on an unauthorized mission and yet he wasn't here at all to face judgment.

Indignant, Anna furrowed her brows and spoke up. "Felix, Els- I mean Agent West – had nothing to-"

Kris hip checked her and stopped Anna cold mid-sentence. She glared at him, but the way he shook his head told her that it might be best if she just stopped talking. That all of the blame was falling to Elsa made Anna angrier the longer she stewed in forced silence. But the longer she thought, the more her anger began to direct itself inward. _It's my fault_.

"Sir, I took some time to ruminate on your recommendation for Agent status for Miss Fields." Elsa's expression was blank, and what Anna could see of her eyes seemed cold and distant. "It is based on your recommendation that we allowed her to accompany us and act as a lure for our suspect. You will be happy to know that she served her purpose exquisitely, without her efforts we wouldn't have saved the second young woman that he had spirited away last night."

Elsa's voice was drowned out by the sound of blood pumping loudly in Anna's ears. She had made a more grave mistake than she realized. Not only in trusting Hans against her better judgment, but in somehow thinking that her utter and complete failure wouldn't come back on the people responsible for training her. And with Elsa's last slip up so fresh in Felix's memory it was no wonder they had been called here.

Anna felt sick, bile burned at the back of her throat but she swallowed it down and forced herself to breathe. She tried to focus on the sound of Elsa's steady words, but none would come back into focus. She could feel her breaths quickening as she tried to hold down the panic, the fear that she could somehow be forced to forget all of this and go back to her old life. To her surprise Kris had leaned into her side as she began to spiral, and the feeling of the warmth on her arm helped to ground her enough to tune back in.

"-physically unharmed,save some minor rope burns. I will personally counsel any emotional issues that could potentially arise from this contact. I take full responsibility for Anna Fields."

"As do I." Kris chimed in, nodding in Elsa's direction, "And if there is to be punishment then I should bear the same as my team leader."

For a long while the silence in the room was palpable, no one seemed to even be breathing as they waited to hear what Felix would say. Anna would have squirmed under the pressure, if not for her desire to not draw any further attention to herself.

"Fields." Felix said quietly, though he stared at Elsa while he spoke. "Do you have anything to say for yourself?"

Anna swallowed hard and glanced over at Kris. She couldn't bring herself to look at Elsa, knowing that one pair of eyes was probably more than enough. _It's my fault_ she chided herself over and over, until her mind recalled the message she had received this morning. Trust. But there was no one else here, so that had to mean...

"Just that I wasn't hurt." Anna blurted out quickly, the pieces of the puzzle all falling into place as realization washed over her. "And that everything went according to plan. Without us, he would have killed that girl. Isn't that why you brought me here in the first place? To help with murders and other issues with non-humans? If I couldn't even serve as bait at this point then...well, then there wouldn't be much reason for me to be here would there?"

It had been Elsa all along conversing with her, leaving those notes in spite of her outwardly prickly demeanor. Helping Anna out in the most subtle and strange way that she could. Despite the pressure of the situation, Anna smiled to herself, but the expression didn't last long as memories of the night before crept back into her mind. Elsa may have had some small bit of faith in her, but she hadn't trusted Anna enough to tell her what she was.

"Well. I'll admit I'm a little surprised to hear that you finally took my feelings on the matter to heart, West." Felix sounded more than a little pleased with himself, he even rocked up onto the balls of his feet and back a few times as he delivered his verdict. "I take it this glowing review means you'll be officially recommending her status change?"

Anna's focus shifted to Elsa the moment Felix finished speaking. She watched as the line of muscle along Elsa's jaw tensed, betraying her true feelings about the matter.

"Yes."

"I'm sorry, West. I will need a little more than a simple 'yes.'"

"I will recommend Anna Fields for agent status."

"How wonderful!" Felix's eyes practically glowed as his smile widened and he rounded on Anna, "Let's get down to the details, shall we?"

"If you'll excuse me."

Elsa breathed the words, hardly above a whisper, but left the room before anyone could protest. Anna could hear Felix prattling on about the inner workings of how they chose jobs, what the rankings entailed, and what types of missions there were, but her mind was struggling to take it all in. It was so much, and on the heels of such a stressful night her mind spun as he carried on. _This is a good thing, right?_

 **a/n: I can't express how much I appreciate the reviews, they really are inspiring. Thank you all for your continued support, see you again soon!**


	10. Walking By

Chapter Ten: Walking By

Anna lay motionless on her bed, staring up at the ceiling as she had for the better part of an hour trying to will the blankness of it to clear her mind. Felix had bogged her down with the finer details of her new title, but nothing that he had said could push Elsa out of her mind once she had worked her way in. Try as she might to keep distracted, Anna kept coming back to thoughts of Elsa over and over.

Elsa was a werewolf, she had been since the moment Anna met her, and Anna had been completely oblivious. She kicked herself time and again for not seeing the signs, for not realizing it sooner. She ran over each instance where she had had an opportunity to put the pieces together, but the thoughts only made her increasingly embarrassed at her sheer lack of attention.

In the infirmary Elsa had blood on her face as if she had been scratched, but no visible scratches to have produced it. Before that the Galer had nearly killed Anna with those deadly spores and yet Elsa had not only come out unaffected, but somehow convinced Anna that she had just been too far away to have any ill effect from the spores. It all seemed painfully, blindingly clear in hindsight.

Anna audibly groaned and pressed the palms of her hands to her eyes as the memory of helping Elsa bandage her wound came creeping back into her head, bringing with it a new, deeper sense of her stupidity. Of course Elsa had been irritated that Anna had barged into her room and demanded to help her get patched up, it wasn't necessary at all. _How stupid must I have looked to her?_

"Is now a bad time?"

Anna bolted upright in her bed, her heart racing as she reminded herself that werewolves were most definitely not psychic, and that Elsa's sudden appearance was just an unfortunately timed coincidence. Elsa had no idea that Anna had been thinking of her, and had certainly not shown up because of it.

"I, what are you-" Anna stammered, stumbling over her words before forcing herself to take a calming breath. "You never come to my room..."

Elsa looked at her curiously for a moment, before delicately inclining her head. A small smirk tilted one side of her lips up as she replied, "Are you asking me to come around to your room more often?"

Anna made a choked sound as the memory of her night with Blue at the club swept into her mind like the tide, sending a rush of heat and color into her cheeks. _I'm never going to get used to this._

"It's, well, that's not-"

Elsa maintained her facade for only a moment before a small smirk crept onto her lips, forcing her to raise her hand to hide her quiet laughter. Anna breathed a sigh of relief at the sound, knowing with certainty now that Elsa was definitely playing with her.

"Do you have a moment? I think I owe you a bit of an explanation."

"For the relentless teasing or..?"

Elsa awkwardly shifted her weight from one leg to another, then cleared her throat. "For what you saw in the dungeon."

Anna tensed instinctively, wondering why Elsa would feel any need at all to explain herself. This was just what she was, there was no helping it one way or another. "You're a werewolf. What more could there be to say?"

"I am." Elsa's tone had quieted, and her expression turned nearly grave. "If you decide to switch teams because of that I'll be more than happy to help you with the paperwork and-"

"Woah, woah! Switch teams?" Anna asked incredulously, "Why would I do that? You and Kris have been training me all this time and I'm supposed to just go let someone else benefit from your hard work?"

Anna watched impatiently as Elsa's wheels seemed to be turning. She looked a little confused to Anna, of maybe lost, but whichever was the case Anna's reaction clearly hadn't been the one that Elsa was expecting to receive.

"You're not..." Elsa paused, still looking in Anna's direction but not quite at Anna. "...I don't know, scared?"

The words 'of me' hadn't been spoken, but their implication weighed heavily in the air between them as Elsa waited for Anna's response.

"Are you kidding?" Anna gushed, unable to stop her excited rambling. " This is like a dream come true! Not only am I part of an organization that works with and around non-humans, I'm also working directly with an _actual_ werewolf! How cool is that?"

Anna's nerdy appreciation of what Elsa was may have been a bit overwhelming because Elsa's face seemed to be switching between confusion and mild happiness over and over again. Anna reminded herself to dial it back a bit, but smiled even so.

"Before you give a solid answer on that, there's something else I need to talk with you about."

Elsa hesitated at the end of her sentence, as if there was something else that she immediately needed to add to it, but the words never came.

Anna nodded, then patted the bed next to her as if to invite Elsa to take a seat. "What is it?"

Anna had never seen Elsa look quite so off her game. She looked almost meek as she took slow steps towards Anna's bed, but stopped just short. Elsa's fingertips touched the space where Anna had indicated, as if to steady herself, but Elsa remained standing.

"I learned what I was about ten years ago. I had just become an adult and the very first thing that I did was sneak an underage friend of mine into a club."

Anna's face scrunched up a little before she wrangled it back under her control, "That's...I mean that's not so bad really? We all do stupid things when we're young and-"

"When we left the club that night and started walking home, I heard a terrified scream in the night." Elsa interrupted, her tone was firm but it was the slight quaver in it that zipped Anna's lips tightly shut. "The sound set my blood on fire. I had never thought of doing something so stupid, so reckless, but I couldn't just let someone get hurt.

"I left my friend behind to call the police and I went after the person responsible for hurting that woman. Girl, really. When I got closer and saw that she couldn't have been much older than my friend...I snapped."

The more Elsa revealed about the night she had discovered her powers, the more nervous Anna became. Suddenly she was glad that Elsa hadn't sat down, because Anna's fingers were digging into the bedspread at her side to keep from saying anything. Anna's mind shifted into overdrive as she tried to dance around the similarities, about what this might mean for their relationship as a team. Words refused to form and a painful silence fell between them, until at last Elsa began to speak again.

"I suspected the moment you told me about your worst night. I knew the chances were astronomical, but I couldn't shake the feeling. I had a friend pull the file on me from that night and there was your name. In my file.

"Even so, I wanted to be wrong. But after seeing that look of fear on your face in that dungeon when you saw me change, I know with certainty that it was you that night. There's no doubt in my mind, because I will never, ever forget the look of fear in your eyes that first time you saw me."

Elsa hand shook slightly as she raised it and extended it in Anna's direction. Anna heard her inhale, and as she exhaled the skin from her elbow down sprouted fur, her fingers elongated into an odd hybrid of hand and paw. Anna's eyes locked onto the sight, the memories it brought making her head pound. Elsa had saved her. Elsa had put her down the path that led her right here to this very room, and all before they even knew each others names.

Anna glanced up tentatively to look Elsa in the eyes, but Elsa was staring purposefully at the floor. There was a line of tension in her jaw where she must have been clenching it shut to keep from saying anything more. It was clear that telling Anna this, showing her this, had made Elsa uncomfortable, but even so she hadn't said an ill word.

The bedspread rustled quietly beneath Anna as she adjusted herself. Without thinking she reached out her hand and placed it beneath Elsa's so that the palms of their hands touched. Elsa's eyes snapped to Anna's immediately, a strange intensity burning in them, but when Anna's gaze didn't falter she felt Elsa's hand revert back.

The seconds seemed to stretch into eternity as they stood there, the pressure of Elsa's palm on top of Anna's own until finally Elsa withdrew her hand and shuffled back a few paces. Anna felt a tightness in her chest at the absence of the warmth, the pressure, but withdrew her own hand back to her lap without comment.

"Thanks. For telling me, and for saving me."

"You're not angry? If you hadn't seen me that night your life would be so different, you could be-"

"Living the barista dream in my shitty, _murdery_ apartment?" Anna joked, "I should be groveling at your feet for the chance you've given me."

Elsa exhaled and shook her head. "I have to say, this entire thing played out a little differently in my head. Kris was right, as usual."

"Wait, _Kris_ knew the whole time you did?" Anna indignantly puffed out her chest, "I take that back, I am definitely mad."

"I guess I should..." Elsa gestured quietly at the door, but never finished the sentence. Instead, she simply escorted herself out, leaving Anna with more questions than answers.

In the days to come Anna hardly saw Elsa at all, and the longer she went without seeing her the more she began to blame herself. By the third day of sparse interaction, Anna was one hundred percent certain that Elsa was avoiding her because of that ridiculous palm touch thing. _What was I thinking?_

"Anna."

Kris' voice was stern, and when Anna raised her head from the bar it was clear that he was upset. No doubt he had been talking to her again and she had zoned out while wallowing in her bad decisions.

"What?"

"I said we need to get to training, your vastly extended break is more than over."

"Fine, fine."

Anna sighed, then slipped from her chair and followed Kris toward the training room. He was rattling off some suggestions as to what possible workouts they could do, and mentioned needing to pick a mission for the three of them, but Anna's mind had all but tuned out until Kris crossed the threshold of the doorway.

"-Els, what the hell happened to you?"

She tried not to seem incredibly obvious, but her feet betrayed her. Anna stumbled as she tried to rush through the same doorway that Kris was standing in, but he grabbed her arm at the last second and kept her steady. Once she was righted, Anna's gaze fell on Elsa, who was standing at a punching bag throwing punch after vicious punch.

Even from a distance, Anna could clearly see that the skin around Elsa's eye had tinted purple with a potent bruise. As she closed the distance between them, the gash above her eye became visible, as did the bruises around her wrists and the scratches on her arm.

"Elsa..." Anna wanted to ask questions, wanted to know what happened, but some part of her felt like she had no right to and that kept her lips firmly closed.

Kris grabbed Anna's shoulder and pulled her back a little, but then placed himself next to her. "Why don't we just spar today, Anna? I feel like your hand to hand might be a little rusty, you'll definitely need it for any missions we might go on."

Anna resented having been pulled away from Elsa, she was a teammate and she was injured. Sure, she would likely heal from all of it by tomorrow morning, but that didn't mean that she didn't deserve to have her wounds looked at. Anna roughly jerked her shoulder from Kris' grip, then glared at him.

"You're just not going to address the fact that Elsa is totally beaten up?" she demanded of him before rounding on Elsa herself, "And _you're_ just not going to tell your team what's going on?"

Elsa smirked as she continued to strike the bag rhythmically, then shook her head. Anna turned to Kris, her mouth open slightly in offense, but Kris only had a slightly apologetic smile on his face.

"What is this? Hazing?" Anna huffed, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Come on, Anna." Kris muttered, gently motioning with his hands to try and herd her away from Elsa.

The spark of anger grew rapidly in Anna's belly, but just as rapidly her mind came up with a brilliant solution to her numerous problems. A way to get answers and to speak with Elsa.

"Fine, I'll spar." Anna conceded, but just as Kris began to look relieved Anna threw her curve ball. "With Elsa."

With a single hand Elsa steadied the punching bag in front of her before a small, amused huff of air escaped her. The tiniest smile began to form on her lips, but Anna was forced to watch as it withdrew itself and was replaced with a neutral expression. Since just a few days ago Elsa's demeanor toward her had changed vastly, but why?

"And just why would you want to do that?"

 _Because you haven't been talking to me. Because you're injured and you won't tell us why._ "My mistake, I didn't realize you would be afraid to risk being beaten by someone like me. I guess I'll have to settle for Kris."

Elsa blatantly snorted in laughter this time, obviously amused by Anna's declaration. "It sounds like you just need to be knocked down a few pegs."

"And for every hit I land, you have to answer a question for me." Anna added, watching Elsa's reaction carefully.

"Then it sounds like I've got nothing to lose." Elsa said, cracking her knuckles in anticipation of the fight.

Her expression wasn't as easy to read as it had been the day she had told Anna about their intertwined past. She wasn't by any means a blank slate, but whatever emotions she was feeling were hidden very well beneath a mask of calm.

"Well, are we sparring or have you lost your nerve?"

Anna had time to muster a nervous chuckle before Elsa rolled her eyes and muttered something beneath her breath. Then, Elsa launched a volley of punches that sent Anna stepping back, and back, and back again. As quickly as she moved Anna was only just barely staying out of Elsa's range, and even that she suspected, or rather hoped, was because Elsa didn't really want to hurt her right out of the gate.

Elsa was leagues faster than Kris, and Anna could only imagine how much worse a punch from her might feel if she were to get hit. She only had so much more space to avoid learning just how badly a blow from Elsa would hurt, but Elsa seemed to sense her growing desperation. There was a split second of hesitation in Elsa's swings and Anna greedily stepped forward into the space she left.

Anna swung hard enough to grunt with the force she put behind her motion, but she quickly learned that the opening had been a trap. Time seemed to slow as Elsa's hand shot forward, avoiding Anna's fist and instead grabbing just beyond her wrist. Pain shot down Anna's arm as Elsa applied steady, growing pressure until the pain was blinding. Slowly, with a single hand, Elsa forced Anna to her knees on the mat.

"Elsa." Kris barked, "That's more than enough for your point."

Elsa released her wrist and Anna knelt there on the mats for a moment, cradling and massaging the soreness away. Anna's first instinct was to be bitter, angry that Elsa had been so rough with her, but reason came rushing in to correct the emotions. If Elsa was being hard on her, it was so that she would be prepared for a real fight. No enemy would back down of their own will, and she and Elsa knew that better than anyone.

"That'll be the last one." Anna quipped, rising to her feet and shaking off the twinge of pain in her wrist.

"Your confidence is an endless well." Elsa mused flatly, watching Anna carefully for a sign that she was ready for the second bout.

Anna knew her time was limited, but she cobbled together a haphazard plan as quickly as she could. Elsa moved in again and Anna dodged to the side, her heart leaping at the fact that her plan seemed to be working thus far. She lifted her foot and swung hard, but in an instant Elsa was gone and just as fast the floor rushed at her face as she fell.

Anna scrambled to recover from being knocked off balance, but the feeling of a hand wrapping around her ankle sent a shock wave of fear through her. Instinctively she lashed out with her free foot, striking Elsa hard enough to draw a hiss of pain before she released Anna's leg.

Once Anna was on her feet again, she took advantage of Elsa's distraction and swung a hard right hook. The feeling of actually connecting with Elsa's jaw was both thrilling and sickening. Excitement coursed so quickly through her that Anna stepped back and covered her own mouth in surprise. Elsa on the other hand reached up a fist to the side of her mouth to wipe away blood that Anna had drawn.

"That's two!" Anna chirped happily, beaming at Kris.

"Two? Anna, Elsa never even hit the ground..."

Dramatically as she could, Anna rolled her eyes, "Two questions I get to ask her, obviously."

The sound that rose from Elsa was obviously coming from a place of frustration, and it nearly sounded like a growl. "Are you kidding me? We're in the middle of a spar here and-"

"Two. Questions." Anna jabbed her finger toward Elsa with each word, earning a glare from Elsa. "First question: Are you really okay?"

"What a waste of a question." Elsa scoffed, "If I wasn't okay would I be in here training?"

 _Yes_. Anna thought to herself wryly, "Question two: How did you get hurt?"

Elsa's eyes widened briefly, just barely cracking the calm facade for a second before she slipped her neutral mask back on. To Anna's surprise, however, it wasn't Elsa that spoke in response to that question, but Kris.

"Anna, I don't think you want that answer..."

"No, Kris. Anna deserves to know, she _earned_ that answer."

Anna unconsciously took a step back at the slight increase of aggression in Elsa's tone. Elsa's body had gone stiff, her fists balled at her sides as she leveled Anna with a powerful stare.

"I...I want to know."

"A leader is responsible for their team. My team was out of order, so as the responsible party I endured the punishment for all of us."

Guilt shot through Anna's chest, tightening her stomach leaving a chill in its' wake. She fought to keep her breathing even, casual, as if she had some kind of inkling of what Elsa meant. Punishment? Her tongue felt like a weight in her mouth as she tried to think of something to say, some follow up statement that would get more information out of Elsa, but the only thing she could manage was far less thrilling than she had hoped.

"I don't understand."

Elsa's eyes rolled up to the ceiling and when they settled on Anna again, Anna felt minuscule under the intensity of her gaze. "Of course you don't. But you got your title, and that's all that really matters to you anyway, isn't it? That's all that's ever mattered to you."

The words were like a lance, ripping through Anna's heart as she stood there trying to piece the cryptic clues together. Elsa had been so open and kind with her just a few days ago, and now she was cold and distant all over again. Was she really just upset at bearing the punishment for Anna's decision to disobey orders, or was something more at work under the surface?

"I know you didn't really think I was ready..." Anna started, wringing her hands together in front of her, "but I'm an agent now like it or not and-"

"I _don't_ like it." Elsa hissed, stepping into Anna's space and drawing up to her full height. "Why should I be pleased that you were rewarded for trusting that worthless, lying, snake of a man?"

"It all worked out, though!" Anna argued, refusing to back down. _I earned this. I deserve this_. "Even if in the end you-"

"It all worked out?" Elsa laughed, her face scrunching up as she shook her head in disbelief, " _I_ saved you, Anna! Me. And where was your precious knight then, huh? Where was Hans when that vampire had you right where he wanted you?"

The thought struck Anna quite suddenly. In the days after the incident she hadn't seen Hans at all, and even that day once they arrived at the party he had maintained distance. They had formulated a plan before even going to the location though, and the plan was that she appear available, that she allow herself to be taken so that Hans could track the vampire and initiate a take down.

Her memories were a little fuzzy after meeting the vampire, but she couldn't seem to find one where Hans was nearby. Even in the dungeon and afterwards, it was as if he had vanished entirely from the vicinity. Try as she might, she couldn't formulate a proper argument, but it didn't seem like she would have to.

"Why?" Elsa firmly demanded, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Why?" Anna parroted, feeling lost in the wake of her realization.

"You trusted him so easily in spite how _dangerous_ I told you it would be. So why? Why did you go with him?"

There was a note of sadness in Elsa's voice, even the slightest hitch as the word 'dangerous' passed over her lips. Anna faltered, the response she had wanted to give was a quick one: to be an agent, of course.

"Of course I knew it would be dangerous. But I wanted to prove myself to you." Anna paused, but in the pregnant silence she realized how her wording had made the reasoning sound. Hurriedly she looked to the floor to hide the color in her cheeks, adding, "All of you. I just wanted you to know that I could be-"

"You could have _died_ , Anna!" The intensity in Elsa's tone wasn't rooted in anger any more, but it was frightening all the same. She seemed to catch herself though, and rather than continue to speak she chose to pinch and massage the bridge of her nose instead.

Anna opened her mouth to argue, but a small movement from Kris caught her eye and suddenly she couldn't seem to get the words out. Kris had stepped forward and placed a steadying hand on Elsa's shoulder, his face soft and openly sad. And then, in the fraction of a second before his hand settled on Elsa's shoulder she saw it. A small, almost imperceptible shake of Elsa's shoulders.

Without prompting, the memory of Hans mentioning a death that Elsa may have been responsible for came to the forefront of her mind. All the fight drained out of Anna as the memory consumed her, and in light of what Elsa just said Anna almost wanted to ask about it then and there. Would Elsa even answer her if she could manage to say the words?

"I'm still here." Anna finally managed to say, but it felt like her words fell flat with her audience.

"He wasn't even in the building, Anna. He wasn't going to-" Elsa had begun to argue, her voice rising incrementally with each word, but another touch from Kris stopped her cold.

"W-what?" Anna faltered, her eyes darting between Kris and Elsa a few times. "No. No, we had a plan. He wouldn't just leave me there knowing what was at stake."

"He lied to you, Anna. He lied and you ate up every single honeyed word because you were desperately impatient, and because of you I had to-" Elsa stopped, her eyes widening for only a second before she got her expression back under control. "I hope you enjoy your title, and all the things it carries with it, Agent Fields."

Elsa turned around without another word, shaking off Kris' touch as she did. Anna watched helplessly, the strange mixture of emotions inside of her swirling into a tempest as she tried to decide what to do. Ultimately, her stubbornness won out and sent Anna rushing at Elsa's back. Anna leaped up and wrapped her arms around Elsa's neck, hoping to stop her leaving, but what happened next was almost too quick to process.

Anna quietly grunted in pain as Elsa reached back with both arms, grasping Anna's shoulders roughly. Then she leaned forward, and in a stunning display of brutal strength she uprooted Anna and tossed her to the ground. Anna struck hard, landing on her back and feeling the air leave her lungs with a pitiful wheeze. Then, the sensation of heat and pressure pressed over her hips and she felt hands roughly pressing her shoulders down into the mat.

When the blinding pinpoints of lights behind Anna's closed eyelids finally faded, she struggled to open them and found herself pinned beneath Elsa. Her body throbbed with pain from striking the mat, but Anna didn't struggle under Elsa. Instead, she let the heat of embarrassment and shame wash over her as she realized what a stupid idea that had been.

The expression on Elsa's face was unreadable, and something about the overwhelming blankness of it sent another pang of guilt through Anna. Anna opened her mouth, then closed it again. She wasn't sure what she thought she was going to say, but whatever it had been was gone now.

Elsa's eyes felt as if they were looking straight through Anna, judging all that she was and ever would be with the ferocity of her gaze. Anna finally shifted under Elsa's pin as nerves rushed through her, and the simple movement prompted Elsa to rise and release Anna.

"I know, I know." Anna rasped, her arms shaking a little as she started trying to lift herself up. "I shouldn't have-"

But Anna couldn't form any words when she saw Elsa extending her hand, as if offering to help Anna to her feet. She wasn't looking at Anna, but the small gesture was enough to give Anna the smallest bit of hope. _I might still be able to fix this_.

"If I had been a human opponent then you might have had a chance. But not all of your opponents will be human, so this was a good lesson for you. Alternate heat and cold for the pain." Elsa pulled her hand back the moment Anna was on her feet, as if the contact of their skin was burning her.

"But I'm not in any-"

"Just do it." Elsa spat the words almost like an order, then turned her back on Anna again and headed back toward the punching bag she had been practicing on before their spar began.

"Are you okay, Anna?" Kris whispered the moment Elsa was out of earshot. "If you need ice or something right now we can-"

"Did you see that?" Anna sounded a little bewildered, "I hit her. I really hit her."

"Yeah. But you also negated your progress by pulling back the second you made some headway against an opponent." Kris hesitated, "And you also attacked someone who had their back turned, which was _not_ cool."

"She was just going to walk off. I shouldn't have to remind you that we were still in the middle of our spar." Anna pouted, rubbing gently at the back of her head. _Even if I was the one who paused it to demand answers_. "I wasn't going to let her just downgrade my skills like that! Besides, she can't be that mad. She _did_ help me up after she tried to throw me straight into the core of the Earth."

Kris chuckled at Anna's joke, but by the look on his face he was still concerned. "Of course she did. She's not a bad person, you know."

Anna's head was still foggy with pain, but at the mention of Elsa not being a bad person Anna heard Hans' voice in her mind again. It was like a nagging song stuck there, but the only words she knew were 'blood on her hands,' and the only voice was his. Surely if something like that had happened Kris would know about it. As far as Anna knew they had been partners for some time now, so why wouldn't he?

"Right..." Anna motioned her head to the side, inviting Kris to follow her toward the door of the training room. "How much do you know about her, exactly?"

"Listen, I don't really like to play gossip games. So whatever you're trying to ask, just ask it outright."

Anna stiffened a little, she hadn't expected to be so quickly and thoroughly called out. Especially not by Kris. "I just, someone mentioned something about Elsa having blood on her hands..."

A quick spark of recognition flashed in Kris' eyes, and Anna could tell that whatever this had to do with was likely true. His mouth opened the tiniest bit, but clamped shut again just as quickly. His jaw tightened and set, as if he were forcing himself to hold a burning ember in his mouth.

"You don't have to say anything if you don't want to, I just wasn't sure if I should ask her or..." Anna trailed off, "I trust her, I do. But I just can't get this out of my-"

"No." Kris shook his head, as if to emphasize his point. "I'm not sure it's right for me to tell that story, not alone anyway. We were both there that day...but that loss was much harder on her than it ever could have been on me."

Anna glanced back at Elsa, watching her throw punch after punch despite sparring, despite being injured already. Anna knew she had barely begun to scratch the surface of who Elsa was as a person, but she couldn't really be that bad, could she?

A bad person wouldn't have thrown themselves blindly at a man attacking someone, not knowing if they would survive or not. A bad person wouldn't have carried someone to a hospital even though they knew the person would survive. But why would a good person not defend themselves more vigorously than Elsa did when her goodness was challenged?

When Anna finally looked back at Kris her cheeks flushed with color yet again. It was clear by the look on his face that she had been staring for some time, but she hadn't been able to help it. Elsa was an enigma. At times blatantly rude, at other times unbelievably self sacrificing...the only thing Elsa was for sure was confusing.

"Staring at her won't help you figure her out." Kris sighed, "Believe me, I tried."

"She's just..." Anna paused, taking a second to try and sort out the best way to put her thoughts into words.

"I know. But she's already warmed up to you more than you realize." Kris smiled fondly over Anna's shoulder at Elsa, "Its nice to see."

"Well," Anna thought back on their talk a few days ago, letting the memory of that day act like a salve over her wounded pride. Anna had hurt Elsa, knowingly or unknowingly, and Elsa deserved to be upset. Anna would just have to be patient, but she knew the Elsa from a few days ago would come back again. "I like her too."

"Oh yeah?" Kris locked on Anna in a second, smiling wide and waggling his eyebrows, "You wouldn't be the first. Was it her steely, cold demeanor that made you fall for her? Or was it when you heard she carried you to the infirmary? Or was it literally moments ago when she nearly crushed you into the floor? People really seem to like that for some reason-"

"W-what? No! I didn't mean, I don't know what you're-" Anna stammered, trying to backtrack as quickly as she could. "You definitely misunderstood-"

"What's there to misunderstand? She's cute. In a weird, brooding kind of way."

"I don't..." Anna began, trying to carefully pick what she said so as not to draw more teasing from Kris.

"You know, if you actually like her you should listen to her." Kris added, cutting Anna off before she could make too much of a fool of herself. "You got her into some serious trouble, you know. The least you could have done is heard her concerns about what you did."

"She helped make me an agent, of course I like her you idiot." Anna glared at him as he made yet another irritatingly playful face at her. "But it's not like-"

"It's not like you definitely had some weird, conflicted feelings when she pinned you earlier?"

"Kris!" Anna nearly shouted, but anything more she could have said was cut off by the one voice she didn't want to hear.

"I thought I told you to keep it in your pants, Bjorgman." Elsa's voice was stern, but her expression was less so. Her brows were pulled tight together, but the smallest inkling of a smile had started at the corner of her lips. "I think I speak for all of woman kind when I say that literally no one is interested."

"Oh it's not me you need to be worried about, _West_ -"

Anna moved as if she were trying to position herself to where she could see both Kris and Elsa, but stepped hard on Kris' foot as she did so. The best course of action was to play along, that would surely move the conversation away from here.

"She said no one is interested, Kris. Didn't you hear her?"

"Got it." Kris said through gritted teeth, disguised as an awkward smile.

Elsa rolled her eyes at Kris, the action almost playful. Something about interacting with him seemed to calm Elsa, and for that Anna had to be grateful. She had done nothing but make Elsa more upset, and without even really speaking to her Kris had somehow leveled her mood back to a mildly pleasant one.

Elsa gestured toward the door leading out of the training room. "I think we've all had enough for today. I can make us dinner if you guys want to get cleaned up."

"No way, boss lady." Kris frowned, "You go get those cuts taken care of. I got it tonight."

Anna watched as Elsa looked fondly on Kris, then rolled her shoulders and mock saluted him before leaving. She was so different in that moment than she had been during the spar, than she had been when they were talking before. Anna wondered if there was a pattern that she was missing, something that Kris was doing or saying that she could mimic, but a tap on the shoulder from Kris was enough for her to realize that she was being recruited to help. Trying to decode the Elsa cryptex would have to happen another time.


	11. Ironic

Chapter Eleven: Ironic

Elsa stalked the length of her room like a caged animal. She had lost count of how many times she made the pass from one end to the other, but it had long since become clear that the action would do nothing to soothe her unease. Even the passage of days couldn't stop her mind from fixating on the way that she had treated Anna during their spar.

She went over the words again and again, unsure of why she had lashed out so viciously, given Anna so much information that she hadn't needed about Hans' betrayal. Maybe some part of her wanted Anna to understand what Hans really was, or to hear what she might have to say about being abandoned, but the truth wasn't any more clear today than it had been at the time.

Elsa couldn't rationalize not just telling Anna what her punishment had been, either. Was it really so difficult to admit what had happened? She had told Kris afterwards, so why had her mouth gone dry when Anna had asked? Why had she instinctively chosen to be harsh, to push her away, when it would have been perfectly simple to be honest instead?

With an angry sigh Elsa found her way to her desk and forced herself to stand still there. Her palms pressed down against the cool surface of the desk, but that cold sensation only brought another memory to her mind. Anna hadn't shrunk away at the up close and personal demonstration of Elsa's abilities the night she shared their secret. Anna had touched her, and would have continued to if Elsa hadn't pulled away. But why? What did that mean?

Then, for the first time in days, Elsa heard a quiet knock.

"Come in."

The response was automatic, because in her mind Elsa knew who was on the other side of the door. Who but Kris would come check on her?

"Is now a bad time?"

Anna's voice was tentative from across the room, but even so the sound was enough to send a chill shooting up Elsa's spine. She hadn't in a million years guessed that Anna might come here after their first encounter in her room, or after their spar. It took Elsa a moment to regain her composure, but when she did, she was all cheek.

"Couldn't wait for me to make my way back to your room, so you came to mine instead?"

Anna faltered, a small, choked sound escaped her before she cleared her throat. "I brought you something."

Elsa hesitated. Her hands curled briefly into fists on the desk, but she relaxed them as she turned around to face Anna, attempting to look calm despite the roiling sea of uncertainty in her mind. Anna was smiling in that way people smile at someone when they're worried about them, and in her hands was a brightly colored mug that had likely been brought in from her home when she had first come to S.N.O.

"Oh." Elsa was quiet, unsure of how to take the offering. "I, uh, I don't drink coffee. Thanks though."

Anna's cheeks lit up at Elsa's declination, clearly she was feeling self conscious at having been rejected so quickly.

"It's not coffee. Oh, gosh, this is embarrassing." Anna clutched the cup a little closer to her now before she laughed once, "It's actually cocoa."

Elsa raised a brow at the admission and clearly the look was enough to send Anna spiraling, for she began to speak again, this time much more quickly.

"I just haven't seen you in a few days. I figured you were working on research for a tough mission or something and that you might need a pick me up. But as I was trying to get something together I realized I had _no idea_ what kind of things you liked, so I just started making what I like. I'm sure you would rather have something cooler than this. And I'm rambling now, so I'll just...stop."

By the end of Anna's little speech Elsa couldn't suppress the smile creeping on to her face. Admittedly the gesture was a kind one, particularly in light of how poorly Elsa had behaved the last time they spoke, but it was certainly an unusual thing to do to prepare your own favorite drink for someone else.

Elsa approached Anna slowly, peering down into the cup to see a mound of melting whipped cream and colorful sprinkles. Anna held out a hand, offering the mug and Elsa took it. A shock of energy passed through them where their fingers grazed one another and Elsa quickly chalked the feeling up to static electricity.

Carefully Elsa lifted the mug to her nose, then closed her eyes and breathed in deeply. It took a little focus, but after a moment she felt confident that she had identified the different scents rising with the steam coming off of the mug.

"Is that a hint of cinnamon and caramel?" Elsa asked, looking up to Anna for confirmation.

"Y-you can smell all that?" Anna fidgeted under Elsa's gaze, the curious glint in her eyes was unmistakable. "What a cool party trick."

Elsa took a long, slow drink as she mulled over what to say in response. Everything seemed too normal, as if Anna was just going to let Elsa's rudeness blow over and move on. It seemed wrong to do, to not let her vent her frustrations, but the easiness that she felt between them at this moment was too comfortable for her to want to disrupt.

"This is actually pretty good." Elsa admitted, eyeing Anna over the edge of her mug.

Watching Anna stand there made it clear that she hadn't thought this visit through completely, but Elsa didn't push. Instead, she simply took a few idle sips of cocoa and waited. Anna had to have a real reason to come here, Elsa assumed. After all, it wasn't often that people were genuinely kind to one another without reason. At least, that had been Elsa's experience.

"I, well." Anna began, then seemed to lose her will to speak for a moment before finding her voice again. "Is there maybe something I can help you with? In here?"

"In here?" Elsa raised a suggestive brow at Anna and waited for her reaction.

Anna's hands shot out in front of her, shaking back and forth in a motion that just screamed 'I didn't mean it like that.' "With whatever you're working on! Another set of eyes might help. You've been holed up by yourself for days..."

She had sounded like maybe that wasn't the end of her sentence, but if it hadn't been then she had changed her mind about finishing it because she didn't add anything else to it. For a moment Elsa almost caught herself wondering if Anna was going to say that she was worried or concerned, but the notion turned out to be nothing but whimsical fantasy.

Elsa wasn't sure how to react to the question because, in truth, she hadn't been doing too much besides avoid what she had assumed would be a fight with Anna. But with Anna in front of her being so kind and thoughtful, Elsa couldn't see a tactful way to admit that she had been hiding herself away for nothing.

"Uh, it's not official work." Elsa rubbed the back of her neck with her free hand as she walked back to her desk and set her mug down. As if presenting a prize on a game show she raised her hands and partially framed the photos hanging on the wall over the desk. "S.N.O. didn't assign it, anyway. Just something I...work on."

"Oh wow. These are...graphic." Anna sounded a little queasy, but if she felt the way she sounded that didn't keep her from continuing to look at the photos.

"Yes." It wasn't much, but it was all Elsa could manage without giving more detail than Anna might want.

"So if this isn't S.N.O. work, how did you get involved?" Anna asked, tracing one of the multiple colored lines of string connecting two photos.

"I..."

The words had been right there at the end of her tongue, but they wouldn't come. How could she just drop that information on unsuspecting Anna? Even Kris wouldn't continue to help her look into these murders. He said that it was hurting her, keeping her from moving past Merida's death.

"You don't have to tell me." Anna's voice was quiet as she lifted a corner of a different photo, squinting her eyes as if focusing on something. "If it's personal, I mean."

A look of confusion took over Elsa's face before she could get her expression under control, but thankfully Anna seemed absorbed in the images before her and likely hadn't seen. The words took Elsa by surprise. It wasn't as if no one had ever said them to her, but there was always a note of haughtiness when they had been said. Like they expected to be told regardless of any pain it might cause Elsa. Yet, even with horribly graphic photos of crime scenes in front of her, no doubt tantalizing her curiosity, Anna had said those words with sincerity.

Elsa's stomach squirmed uncomfortably, though she couldn't quite put a finger on why she was feeling so uneasy. "Sort of. There was a m-murder, and I had my an officer I know-"

"The one who helped connect us?"

Elsa hummed in response, nodding a single time though she knew Anna wouldn't see the gesture. "I had him start looking into murders that didn't appear to be committed by a human, with certain parameters of course, and he came up with quite a few. I thought it might be the same person, but as you can see I haven't made as much progress as I would like."

"What did he turn up about this symbol?" Anna reached up to photo after photo, tracing along lines that formed a strange, crooked shape that looked like a strange cross between an 'I' and a sideways 'N.'

Elsa leaned in carefully, watching each time until Anna finished, then reviewing the photos again. Before she hadn't seen anything at all, but now that they had been pointed out to her Elsa couldn't believe she had missed them all this time. It was in the lines of shadow from a table at one scene, subtly hidden in a blood stain on another victim's shirt...everywhere Elsa had thought she had looked.

She tried to tamp down her excitement, but a surprised little laugh escaped her. A crooked, open mouthed smile took over her face as she looked over at Anna, suddenly overwhelmed with emotion. Her chest filled with joy, and in an instant she pulled Anna into a brief, but tight, hug.

"You're a genius!" Elsa crowed, pulling out her phone to alter the photos and make the symbol more obvious. "I'm sending them to him now!"

"Glad I could...help?"

Anna sounded dazed and confused, but Elsa couldn't possibly care any less. She had a new straw to grasp at, a renewed sense of hope that maybe, just maybe, their killer had slipped up by leaving a calling card. This was the break she had been searching blindly for since... Her excitement dissipated in an instant as she realized that there was still one more photo that Anna hadn't seen yet.

"Could you" Elsa cleared her throat, trying and failing to get rid of the hint of nervousness in her voice. "take a look at one more?"

"Of course."

The way Anna smiled at her made Elsa's stomach turn, so open and happy and not at all aware of the turmoil playing out in Elsa's head. Elsa's hands shook slightly as she leaned down and opened one of the drawers on her desk, pulling out a file folder and handing it over to Anna. Anna must not have noticed the hesitation in Elsa's movements because she took the folder and opened it without a second thought.

"This scene is different." Anna stated in a matter of fact tone, "The others looked staged but this one..."

Elsa's throat was dry, though she swallowed time and time again to try and alleviate it. _Now or never_. "She was our third. Before you."

Anna's eyes flickered to Elsa, but only briefly. Elsa just knew that the pain was written blatantly on her face, there was no way it couldn't be with how deeply she could feel it. Whether Anna had seen it and politely averted her gaze Elsa couldn't tell, but Anna didn't look at her for long and for that Elsa was grateful.

"Someone shot her." Anna's voice shook a little as she gently touched the edges of the photo, "And you had to..."

"They knew to use a silver bullet." Elsa barely choked the words out, then cleared her throat. Now was no time for tears, especially not in front of Anna. Anna didn't need to know how weak this made her. "Do you see it?"

Anna's face screwed up as if she were re-igniting the flames of concentration. She looked and looked for a long while, but eventually her brows pressed together before she shut the folder and shook her head.

"Nothing?" Elsa asked, unable to hide the hint of desperation in her voice.

"Not in that one." Anna said and, seeming to sense Elsa's frustration with her answer, she added, "I'm sorry."

"No. Thank you. You've been more than helpful." Elsa sighed as she slipped the folder back into the desk drawer, then feigned a smile at Anna. "Seems like the real help was you, not the cocoa."

"To be fair if I hadn't brought it then I wouldn't have been here, so it deserves some of the credit."

"I apologize for taking up so much of your time with something unofficial. I'm sure you've been busy, deciding on a mission and all that." Elsa was breathless, but slowly regaining her composure now that the initial shock of disappointment was fading into a dull ache. "Thank you for indulging me."

"Actually." Anna drew out the word, "On that subject, I do have _something_ I'm interested in. I was hoping to run it by you."

"Ah, butter up the boss to get what you want." Elsa managed a laugh, "Greasing the wheels, isn't that what they call it?"

"I would have brought you a drink either way!" Anna crossed her arms over her chest, but didn't let Elsa's teasing deter her. "Here, take a look at this."

Elsa reached out and took the tablet that Anna thrust in her direction, using her finger to scroll through the information displayed on the screen. The longer she looked, the more obvious it was that this particular mission wasn't sanctioned by S.N.O. How was Elsa to decline, though, when she herself had just admitted to Anna that some of her work wasn't entirely official either?

"It's pretty simple from what information I've gathered. We're just going to be looking into the possible existence of a cult in-"

"-The Black Forest?" Elsa asked as she reached the location description, looking up at Anna in astonishment. "You have to be joking."

"Not at all!" Anna said, chipper as always. "Apparently there might be a cult there that's-"

"This is your first mission, Agent Fields." Elsa ignored the exasperated look on Anna's face as she interrupted again, sounding stern as she brandished the tablet in Anna's direction. "Do you mean to tell me that you want to trek all over the Black Forest looking for some cult that may or may not be there? Without S.N.O. backing us up?"

Anna nodded enthusiastically, causing Elsa to wipe her hand down her face in frustration. In that moment Elsa wondered why she had ever suspected that Anna would have come in here just to be nice. Naturally it could only be something incredibly dangerous and stupid that she would choose for her first mission, so of course it stood to reason that she should try and catch Elsa in a good mood.

Elsa knew Anna wouldn't have come in here without doing her research on the dangers of the area, or what they could meet there, but Elsa's mind only seemed to want to focus on Anna's encounter with the Galer. Kris was human too, but Anna was far less experienced and infinitely more fragile. And to embark with only what S.N.O. might spare for a nonessential mission?

Elsa sighed and shook her head in disbelief that she was even considering this lunacy. "You researched the forest? Thoroughly?"

"Yes. I figure we'll need at least a week's worth of supplies, and camping gear if we can manage."

The words coming out of Anna had to be rehearsed. They flowed too easily to be her own. From Elsa's experience with her, Anna had a way of speaking that seemed to be confident one moment and weak the next. She wondered if Anna had perhaps been practicing this speech in the days prior, or if she had spoken with Kris first to test the waters.

Elsa thought hard, wondering whether it would be worth it to expend the energy arguing with Anna. She knew that Anna had selected this mission for the wow factor, and the more she thought the more she became convinced that Anna and Kris had likely conspired together before she took the risk of approaching Elsa. Kris had likely given Anna every counter argument that she could ever need.

"And you're aware of what else we could encounter there?" Elsa asked pointedly, then rolled her eyes as she added, "In addition to the dangerous cult, of course?"

"I firmly believe that between the three of us we're more than capable of completing this mission." Anna paused, seemingly having reached the end of her rehearsed portion of the speech. Her voice lowered a little and she smiled almost apologetically in Elsa's direction. "Let me show you what I can do, Elsa. I can be a valuable addition to this team."

Then Anna pressed her bottom lip out in a pout and a mixture of happiness and sorrow rushed into Elsa's chest. Anna confirmed with that single expression that she had most definitely spoken with Kris, for this tactic was the same one that he had always used with Elsa and Merida when he was proposing missions too difficult for his skill level. It had been a little joke between their old team, one that Kris would have known Elsa would give in to.

"I know that you are not trying to puppy dog eye the queen herself." Elsa made sure her tone sounded deadly serious, though she could feel the burn of tears trying to well up in her eyes.

Anna's expression changed instantly and she nervously stammered, "I'm so sorry, Kris said-"

"Kris is an idiot."

Elsa huffed, but her outwardly irritated expression didn't reflect the small ember of fondness for Kris that had re-ignited in her. He knew that she would give in to the look, even if it was a poor attempt to sway her. Even if the memory was difficult, it was a good one. She groaned, shaking her head one more time before conceding her defeat to Anna.

"But if he's on board, then I guess we should put in for the mission and start gathering supplies. They might not give us much, but I imagine if we do find the cult the pay will _more_ than offset the cost of going."

XXX

The Black Forest was a long drive from Arendelle, long enough that Kris and Elsa insisted on taking shifts to ensure that no one was too tired on arrival in the forest. It was Kris' shift to drive now, and Anna sat shotgun as Elsa slept quietly in the back seat. Across Anna's lap was a notebook and one of the monster manuals that Elsa had lent her, which Anna was studiously referencing to be sure she was prepared for any and every creature that they might come across on this trip.

"Thanks again for the Elsa tips." Anna whispered quietly at him, "I'm not sure I would have been nearly as successful without your help."

"Yeah well. I'm kind of the resident expert at convincing her to do stupid things with me."

"It's a good thing you are. Though, she hardly pushed back at all." Anna breathed a sigh, "I think maybe helping her with her case helped more than anything."

"You helped her with a case?" Kris asked, glancing sidelong at Anna. "I didn't even know that she had a case right now."

"Yeah, the murders? And your former teammate."

Kris groaned under his breath. "I keep telling her to drop it. She's just hurting herself trying to make something out of nothing."

Anna had read the same line three times before she realized that she had lost focus. By his reaction Anna felt Kris and Elsa might differ in their opinion regarding what happened to their previous teammate, but by now Anna had put together that the woman who had been killed was the one Hans was talking about. That left the third opinion that, if Hans was telling the truth, was shared by a lot of other S.N.O. agents as well.

"You disagree with her then? You don't think all the murders are connected?"

Anna tried to appear as if she were still looking at the manual on her lap, but in truth her focus had been shattered the moment they had gotten on the topic of Elsa's side project. Appearing detached was difficult, but Anna tried as best as she could.

"I think we lost Merida too soon." Kris sighed, wiping a hand down his face in frustration before returning it to the wheel, "I would never say anything outright ill about her, but sometimes Els gets a little..."

"Righteous?"

Anna sat there remembering the look in Elsa's eyes when she was telling Anna how dangerous believing Hans had been, how she must have felt telling Anna that she could have died when she had already lost a teammate.

"I was going to say overzealous, but that works too." Kris chuckled, "Oh, Anna..."

Kris' voice had gone from playful to mildly urgent as he waved his hand over her book and then motioned quietly to the rear view mirror. Anna shifted in her seat to account for the angle of the mirror, but when she finally saw what he was looking at she had to press her hand over her mouth to keep from making all sorts of ungodly sounds at the sight.

Elsa lay strewn across the back seat, as she had since shortly after her unusually long driving shift was up, but now a pair of fluffy, white ears were protruding from the top of her head. Anna's eyes nearly welled with tears as she stared, watching the ears twitch this way and that as Elsa slept. They were large, almost comically so, on her human form, but far too adorable to ignore.

Anna managed to turn to Kris, who was grinning like a mad man, and mouth 'oh my god' but the two remained silent until the excitement died down enough for them to continue to whisper back and forth without being too loud, or too obvious.

"She never believes me when I tell her she shifts in her sleep." Kris whispered, still smiling as he glanced back in the mirror again. "Now you can be my witness."

"So I can look like a creepy pervert too?" Anna quipped, smirking when she saw Kris roll his eyes. "No thanks, you're on your own there buddy."

"Please, you would totally watch her sleep if I wasn't here."

"You _are_ an idiot." Anna repeated the words that Elsa had said to her about Kris, knowing with certainty that she was right.

"Man, it's been a long time since we were on a team mission like this. Last time was...Crag Village?" Kris' face scrunched a little as he appeared to think back, trying to think of a more recent mission. "Yeah, definitely Crag Village."

At the prospect of something more interesting than pretending to review notes, Anna shut her book and set it in the floorboard. "What happened there?"

"Oh you know, the usual. Remote village thought their dead were re-animating." Kris shrugged, as if the idea of the dead coming back to life was common place. "Turns out it was a group of trolls nearby burning some weird combinations of plants for a ritual. Anyone who got too close appeared to drop dead, but by the time they recovered the villagers had already started funeral rites."

"Well that's...interesting?" Anna wasn't sure what more to say. "How long were you there?"

"A few weeks. Let me tell you, three people in a tent is _way_ too many."

Anna was ready to ask for more information, but a quiet whine from the back seat drew both her and Kris' gaze. Elsa had begun to move in her sleep, and the sounds coming from her were nothing short of frightening. Quiet whimpers, and even a single sound that neared a scream, all while Elsa seemed deep in slumber. Her face had even contorted slightly, but it was difficult to tell if the expression was pain or fear.

Anna looked back at Kris and his face hardened into a mask of determination. It was another one of those unspoken things that seemed to happen between them, but it was happening without Elsa even being awake. Without a word Kris pulled off the road and the change in the speed of the vehicle seemed to jostle Elsa into a state of partial awareness.

"Hey, lead foot." Elsa grumbled. "Have you been speeding again? We can't possibly be at the drop point yet."

"Sorry, couldn't hold it any longer!" Kris said in a sing-song voice as he hopped from the driver's seat and ran toward the tree line along the road.

"Men." Elsa sighed, though her tone wasn't as irritated as her face suggested it might be.

Anna couldn't help but stare. The wolf ears had disappeared completely, as if they had been withdrawn into Elsa's scalp the second she roused from sleep. There were so many questions Anna had, but first and foremost in her mind was what had Elsa been dreaming about.

"Sleeping okay back there?" Anna asked, trying to sound as if she definitely hadn't just seen Elsa having what she assumed was a nightmare.

"As well as I can in the back seat of a vehicle." Elsa said curtly, grabbing a jacket that she had shed at the start of their trip and balling it up into a pillow.

"Yeah, I had a hard time sleeping earlier while you were driving." Anna groaned, "I kind of gave up and started looking into-"

"Oh, please don't start a lecture Anna." Elsa groaned, snuggling into her makeshift pillow.

"-the history of the Black Forest. Did you know that it's suspected that numerous inklings of werewolf lore originated there? The place was so overrun with wolves that the people living there thought there was some sort of wolf-god that they had angered. They've all been hunted to near extinction unfortunately, but still."

Anna continued to talk over Elsa's repeated sounds of displeasure, filling the silence while Kris was gone with legends and tales of other mysterious creatures and occurrences happening there. Even though Elsa was making a big show of covering her ears and sighing loudly during Anna's speech, Anna somehow knew that she wasn't entirely disinterested in what was being said.

"It sounds like you're more than ready to go traipsing all over the wilderness of the Black Forest." Elsa closed her eyes before she yawned loudly and added, "I'm sure you'll be just fine."

Anna's heart jumped up into her throat at the praise, she barely concealed the tremor of happiness in her voice as she asked, "Really? You think so?"

Elsa hummed softly, her eyes still closed. Then a small smirk tugged at the corner of her mouth. "Oh yes, just keep telling those stories while we walk around and anything we encounter should knock right out, if it doesn't die of boredom-"

Anna huffed angrily, heat creeping up her cheeks at Elsa's jab. The little nugget of hope that Elsa had seemed to extend was nothing more than a trap, one that Anna fell for head first. Without a second though she grabbed her pillow and unbuckled her seat belt before she leaned between the front seats and took a swing at Elsa.

The soft 'thump' told her that her pillow had hit home, but she hadn't expected Elsa's quick response. Elsa snatched the pillow from her and swatted back, pressing up through the front two seats and swinging in quick succession at Anna. Anna couldn't help but laugh as she sunk back into her seat and raised her arms defensively, looking for an opening to steal her weapon back.

When she finally grabbed it mid swing and tugged, she found herself face to face with Elsa. They were both breathless, faces flushed and inches away from one another, but neither was tugging on the pillow any longer. The small feeling of hurt at being tricked seemed to melt away as a small grin crept onto Elsa's lips, the gesture mirroring on Anna's face as they each huffed a little laugh at the silliness of their actions.

"Alright ladies, back on the..." Kris' voice trailed off as he took in the state of things in the car. "Um."

Shock set in as Anna realized all too quickly exactly what this positioning might look like from his vantage. Frantically, Anna let loose of the pillow and pressed herself back into the door of the car, as far from Elsa as she could manage.

"Not what it looks like!"

She could tell by the look on Kris' face as he lifted himself into the vehicle that he was amused, but if he intended to tease her he seemed to be reserving it for a time when Elsa wasn't close enough to strangle him for it.

"Whatever do you mean? It looks like you bothered our fearless leader and she exacted her swift revenge on you." Kris said, shooting Elsa a knowing smirk as she dropped Anna's pillow on her lap and withdrew back to the back seat with a grumble of agreement. "You're lucky I came back when I did, a pillow fight with her often ends with busted pillows and fluff everywhere."

"It's not my fault the pillows aren't designed to be used for warfare." Elsa sighed dramatically and slumped back onto her side, fluffing her jacket pillow and settling back in.

"Yeah, yeah." Kris responded, jerking the car a little as he pulled them back on to the desolate highway.

Anna shifted in her seat uncomfortably, trying to shake off the strange notions that tried to slip into her mind. It was nice to pretend that they were closer than they were, but somehow Anna had deluded herself into thinking that little things like sharing space meant more than they did.

Hell, at this point just about any small interaction with Elsa seemed monumental. Any touch seemed electric. _It's just nerves, that's all._ Anna reminded herself that she still wasn't used to being around Elsa, being casual with her, so obviously things would be awkward until they got used to being around one another.

"If you keep making that face it'll stay that way." Kris whispered, and Anna saw him glance at her in the light of the setting sun.

"What face am I making?"

"Like you're trying desperately to convince yourself of something." Kris exhaled quickly, his expression soft and amused. "Or trying to convince yourself to not believe something."

"Just...thinking about the mission." It was a lie, and she was fairly certain Kris knew it was, but even so he didn't push.

"You know..." Kris began as if he was going to say something really insightful, but then shook his head. "Take a nap, we'll be there in a few hours and you'll need the energy."


	12. Complicated

Chapter Twelve: Complicated

Elsa sighed heavily as she hefted her bag onto her shoulders and looked toward the thick growth of trees. A halo of light glowed faintly on the horizon as the sun began to rise over the mountains in the distance. The trip would be a difficult one, with the potential to be more dangerous than she would like, but it would be a learning experience for them as a team. At least, she hoped it would.

"Remember, stay together and we stay alive. Got it?"

"We've got it, _West_." Anna replied, sounding vaguely like a teenager irritated with an overprotective parent.

The nervous energy pulsing just beneath Elsa's skin prevented her from rising to the taunt, the last thing they needed at the start of this mission was raised tempers. Step after step they weaved through the trees, Elsa watched like a hawk for any signs of movement, dangerous plant life, or anything even remotely threatening to their small group. The thought of the consequences of missing even a single hint of something dangerous made her stomach turn.

As the trees thickened, both in number and in size, Elsa pressed on relentlessly. She almost hadn't noticed that her pace was too quick, but the sound of ragged breaths behind her served as a reminder that not everyone had the same reserves of strength that she did.

"Let's take a break." She suggested as casually as she could, hoping the others wouldn't be offended that she had pushed them so hard.

"Tired already? I could go all day."

Anna was clearly attempting some sort of bravado, but her face was flushed with exertion and sweat had collected along the collar of her shirt and beneath the straps of her bag. Even a glance at Kris told Elsa that perhaps she had been letting her worries about their surroundings push them a little harder than she should have.

"Oh really?" Elsa chanced a wink at Kris before hiding a smirk. "With stamina like that you might make a girl's knees weak. Don't go making me promises you can't deliver on."

Kris chuckled audibly while Anna busied herself with readjusting the straps on her bag, muttering beneath her breath. Despite this being a break, Elsa never stopped playing lookout. Her eyes constantly scanned over nearby trees and limb in search of activity. Thankfully, it seemed as if this area was as ill traveled as they thought, for nothing seemed too amiss.

"And what does our eagle eyed captain see?" Kris was on his feet, stretching his shoulders out.

"You know I hate being called 'captain.'" Elsa said with a sad little sigh, "I much prefer highness. Or royal highness. Or-"

"Queen?" Anna joined in with a bit of pep in her voice, feigning a half curtsy. "Majesty?"

"Oh that's a good one. Majesty. I'll have to remember that." Elsa smiled in spite of herself, "The area is safe, from what I can see. Smells like the usual. Squirrels, birds, a few deer. It's weird though, no predatory-"

"I'm sorry, you can smell _all_ that?" Anna stepped closer to Elsa, curiosity openly written on her face. "Even at a distance?"

"If I try, sure." Elsa hesitated, feeling a little uneasy with the hungry look on Anna's face.

Anna wanted to know more, Elsa was sure of it, but Elsa simply couldn't form the words for her. Kris had never asked too many questions, merely accepted things as they were, but Anna was truly interested in people who weren't really people, and she wasn't likely to take such a short answer at face value.

Thankfully, Kris began to gather his things again and that seemed to be their cue to get back to the hike. As Kris took the lead to prevent Elsa from driving them too hard, Elsa motioned for Anna to follow him. Anna, however, mimicked Elsa's gesture and the two of them wound up staring at one another for a long while before Anna finally gave in and followed.

"Try to be nice to someone..."

Anna had muttered it under her breath, but Elsa caught every word. With a snarky edge to her voice, Elsa breathed her reply just loud enough for Anna to hear.

"Damn, it would have been much nicer of me to leave the most inexperienced team member at the back. What on Earth was I thinking? Curse my bad manners, now she'll never like me."

Glaring over her shoulder and walking were not two things Anna could simultaneously do, it seemed, for she nearly fell forward as her shoe struck a particularly gnarled root while she was trying to glare at Elsa. Elsa quickly moved forward and grabbed Anna's arm, righting her and giving her an 'I told you so' type look before Anna jerked her arm away in a huff.

Elsa held her hands up as if surrendering and the pair fell silently in line behind Kris as he led them to their campsite. It was a grueling march, made all the more difficult by the constantly changing terrain. The further in to the forest they got, the colder the air seemed to grow, but eventually the trees thinned until they parted into the small clearing that Kris and Anna had painstakingly located on their maps.

"Finally." Anna groaned, dropping her bag unceremoniously to the ground. "That looked a lot closer to our drop point when it was on a map."

"Not tired are you? It's not even nightfall yet." Elsa taunted as she set her bag down, "Typical of someone to brag about their prowess and come up short."

Kris covered his mouth to hide his laughter, but not before he snorted. "Sorry, Anna. It's a lot funnier when I'm not on the receiving end of her teasing."

"Let's get camp set up, then we can figure out dinner and take a breather."

Giving orders had always made Elsa uneasy. At the start she believed being in charge would give her some sense of security, that she might know what was to come if she was the one telling others what to do. Time and time again she had been proven wrong, and she was especially on edge for this mission.  
She worked diligently to distract herself from the growing unease that she felt, but as she fell into a quiet groove of working a loud groan of dismay broke the relative silence over the camp.

"Damn it... _damn it_." Anna cursed, kicking her bag and clutching nervously at the end of one of her braids.

"Problem, Fields?" Elsa asked, barely sparing Anna a glance.

"I..." Anna couldn't seem to think of what to say, because she simply stammered a little before falling silent again.

"Oh boy, this'll make things interesting."

Kris had stopped his work and made his way to Anna's side the moment she had let loose that horrible sound, so he was obviously seeing something Elsa wasn't. Elsa straightened up and went to see what the issue was, only to have her stomach sink at the sight.

"You forgot your tent." She stated simply, realizing the implications of what this would mean for the coming week. "Fields, how did you forget your tent? Did you not go through your checklist?"

"I did!" Anna insisted, "I did I just must have..."

Something in Anna's expression changed, her previous confidence had melted away and left behind only fear. Anna fretted with her braid, gripping it with this hand and that in what Elsa could only assume was a nervous tick.

Perhaps she was afraid that they would allow her to sleep in the open for a week, or that this mistake meant that she would somehow be demoted. Regardless of what was driving the actions, it was clear that Anna was in distress and despite Elsa's irritation with the development, she placed a steadying hand on Anna's shoulder.

"Hey, look at me Fields." Elsa used a soothing tone with Anna, gently squeezing her shoulder until Anna looked into her eyes. "I need you to calm down, okay?"

"Yeah, you can always just bunk with one of us." Kris piped in, his chipper voice earning a small sidelong glare from Elsa.

Anna's breathing had slowed, and her hands fell still over the end of her braid. "I'm good. I'm okay. I'll figure something out, I'll-"

"You'll bunk with one of us." Elsa said, cutting off Anna's newly begun spiral before it could get out of control.

The idea wasn't one she really liked, but given their closeness she assumed Anna would choose to stay with Kris. It seemed a win-win situation for Elsa, Anna would have somewhere to stay and Elsa wouldn't have to share her tent. Kris, however, seemed to think differently.

"Hey, woah. No way am I sharing a tent with her. She's been bragging about her stamina all day, I won't get any sleep!"

Kris cackled, obviously amused, and Elsa rolled her eyes.

"Please, this innocent thing?" Elsa gestured vaguely in Anna's direction, "She gets flustered with even the slightest bit of provocation. You'd have better luck convincing me to switch teams, I think."

Kris turned red in the face, but that didn't do much to offset his argument against Anna sleeping in his tent. "Still, wouldn't want to ruin a good friendship, huh? Besides, I'm _sure_ she would rather sleep with-"

"Just take my tent." Elsa cut Kris off with an edge of frustration to her voice, pinching the bridge of her nose as she reflected on her decision. With little in the way of help from S.N.O this would be difficult, but with careful planning it could work. "I'll be fine sleeping outside."

" _Outside_?" Anna asked indignantly, then shook her head, "No way, let's just stay together. You can't be outside, it's already cold and-"

"And I'm more than equipped for that." Elsa snapped, losing control of her temper for only a fraction of a second before calmly adding. "Werewolf, remember?"

But as night fell and their camp was set, even the small cooking fire wasn't enough to keep the wind from sending a chill straight to Elsa's bones. Kris had eyed her more than once as they cleaned up after dinner, as if he was silently imploring her to re-think sleeping outside, but if he had any argument ready he never voiced it. Instead he chose to retire early and leave Elsa with Anna, who stayed outside until she was visibly shivering from the cold.

It seemed silly to Elsa that Anna would wait out here so long, as if Elsa might see her shivering and shaking and suddenly decided to share a tent. Not only that, it was horribly irritating that she might have to explain herself to Anna. Anna had been the one to ask about clothing and werewolves, yet here she sat, stubbornly acting as if she, too, could bear the cold.

"You should get to bed. I'm sure you won't want to see what's about to happen." Elsa stated as she finally rose from beside the fire, then gestured in the direction of the tent for emphasis.

"I'm fine. Just going to stay here a while longer." Anna's voice shook as she spoke, she was clearly trying to keep her teeth from chattering. "If you can handle it so can I."

There was a moment of silence between them, during which Elsa had to wrangle her facial expression under control.

"Suit yourself. Don't say I didn't warn you."

Elsa sighed, not bothering to turn away from the fire, or Anna, before she began stripping her clothes off. She tugged her shirt over her head and drew in a sharp breath between her teeth as the wind bit into her now exposed skin, but she carried on nonetheless. She carefully folded her shirt and pants, then set them to the side and reached behind her back to work the clasp on her bra.

"Woah. Uh, aren't you uncomfortable d-doing that out in the open?"

Anna's voice was quiet, and she had faintly squeaked somewhere in the middle of her question. She had averted her eyes too late, Elsa assumed, but it had been her own fault for not listening when Elsa had told her to go to bed. Anna could have spared herself the embarrassment if she had only gone to bed.

"I used to be."

Elsa hadn't meant to sound so melancholy, but after shifting unexpectedly so many times she had just grown used to others seeing her in such a state. It wasn't as if she was comfortable with it, not entirely, but she had learned to cope with the feelings that someone seeing her brought on.

"W-what about the special fabric?" Anna asked, now pointedly covering both sides of her eyes with her hands like blinders as she stared anywhere but at Elsa.

"Since this wasn't a sanctioned mission I only have a few outfits for the length of the trip, so I have to make them count. This part of the forest is relatively safe, compared to the areas we'll be in in the next few days anyway, so I thought I wouldn't need one today." Elsa explained, carefully forming all of her clothes into a tight roll before stepping into Anna's line of vision and forcing her clothing roll into Anna's hands. "Take these inside for me, will you? It'll be hard to work the zipper with no thumbs."

"No thumbs?"

It was brief, but Elsa was positive that Anna had glanced up just in time to get an eyeful of everything before Elsa's form shifted down into a more compact one. Anna looked stunned, then confused as her mind no doubt tried to reconcile the fact that Elsa was out of the ordinary for her kind. Briefly Elsa wondered if Anna remembered the night they discussed werewolves, the same night Anna had insistently bandaged her wounds.

"You can...you have more than one..." Anna muttered, then when Elsa quietly growled a response Anna seemed to remember that Elsa wouldn't be able to talk in this form. "If you change your mind, um, I'll be in there."

 _Yeah, right._ Elsa thought wryly to herself as she watched Anna retreat into the safety of her tent _I'll just walk into that tent naked in the middle of the night. What a great plan._

XXX

Anna woke with a start the next morning, her dreams had left her feeling as though she hadn't slept at all. She couldn't shake that brief glimpse of Elsa fully nude no matter how long she tried, nor could she rid her mind of any of the other thoughts that accompanied the image. Anna wasn't sure that she would have been able to do what Elsa had done if the roles had been reversed, or how she would feel with being forced to be okay being seen like that.

For half a moment Anna wondered if she had fallen and hit her head on their hike in and dreamed the whole thing, but a glance to the corner of the tent confirmed that yes, Elsa had definitely stripped in front of her and turned into a wolf. The little bundle of tightly wrapped clothes sat there like a beacon, reminding Anna that she had most definitely seen Elsa naked.

Anna cupped her face and gently tapped her hands to her cheeks a few times to shake off the embarrassment of the memory. If Elsa could be calm, and even professional, about it then the least Anna could do was not act like it was a huge deal, right?

No matter how many times she told herself that, though, Anna couldn't help but feel strange about it. Sure, Elsa was strong, but how many times did she have to feel that shame before it wasn't shame any more? Maybe Elsa didn't feel shame at all, Anna hadn't seen anything that she would need to be ashamed of.

Anna shook the thought, then carefully removed herself from her sleeping bag and zipped back the flap to find that Kris was seated alongside the white wolf that couldn't be anyone but Elsa, scratching her head and speaking to her in gentle tones while their breakfast cooked over the coals of their fire. For a moment Anna hesitated, unsure whether she should interrupt them, but Elsa was quick to notice her presence and Kris seemed to catch on shortly after.

"Look who's finally awake!" Kris jovially called to her, "I was beginning to think I was going to have to go in and wake you. Breakfast is just about ready and then we've got to get to work."

Wolf Elsa yawned widely and Anna saw the sharp, white fangs in her mouth gleam in the early morning light. The sight jarred Anna, but when Elsa rose to her paws and padded off toward the tent Anna felt a tension she didn't realize she had been holding in her shoulders release as she let loose a sigh the moment Elsa was out of sight.

"Rough night?" Kris asked, a little too casually to actually be casual.

Anna had no idea where to begin. If Elsa had been so comfortable in front of Anna, basically a stranger to her, then surely Kris had also seen the same sight she had. Was it polite to bring it up, though? Anna only managed a quiet whimper in reply as she covered her face with her hands again.

"Oh wait, don't tell me." Kris laughed, then leaned in and uttered in a hushed whisper, "First time seeing her go all furry without the morph fabric, right?"

"Yes." Anna groaned, shaking her head as she held it in her hands. "It was only a second but I saw basically everything and I feel _so bad_ about it."

"She hasn't always that stuff, you know. She's used to it. I feel your pain though, I was on a team with two at once." Kris shivered and shook his head. "You never get over the fear that you might get slapped for just _looking_ like you might have looked."

Anna's head raised up quickly at the little snippet of information that Kris let slip, but before she had a chance to dig for more information the sound of a zipper announced Elsa's return. Her cheeks burned as she avoided looking at Elsa through breakfast, but by the end of their meal she had convinced herself to get it together.

She wouldn't be able to function if she was constantly worried about something that obviously wasn't bothering Elsa. Anna steeled her resolve and put the memory behind her as best as she could, and with breakfast behind them they animal proofed the campsite and equipped themselves with weaponry and supplies for the day ahead.

Kris slid a long, hunting style knife out of the sheath at his waist as if to check that it was there, then touched the handle of a throwing ax on his other side before nodding his approval. Elsa had gone the opposite direction and opted for a bow with a quiver of arrows. Not surprising, considering what she could likely do at close range without any weapons at all. Anna wasn't entirely sure what to bring, but eventually settled for a small knife and one of the lighter pistols.

Elsa took the lead, as expected, with Anna behind and Kris bringing up the rear as they began their hike into the first area that Anna had sectioned off for them to search. It was much slower work than Anna had envisioned it being, not to mention more tedious than she ever imagined it could be. Every now and then excitement would bloom in her chest as Elsa paused their hike to kneel to the dirt and investigate something or other, but that excitement was quashed just as quickly when Elsa would rise back up with no comment.

Eventually a loud grumble eclipsed the quiet sounds of feet crunching over top of forest debris, and Anna could do nothing but grin sheepishly when Elsa glanced back at her.

"Sorry." Anna mumbled quietly, placing her hand over her stomach briefly.

She thought she had seen Elsa roll her eyes when she turned back to face forward, but within minutes Elsa had led them to a small alcove and removed her quiver, bow, and supply bag. Without a word she dug something out and tossed it at Anna. With a clumsy catch Anna realized that it was a protein bar, but when she opened her mouth to thank Elsa she was cut off.

"This area isn't looking promising." Elsa directed her words to Kris, rather than to the group, and the action ignited a little resentment inside of Anna. "No signs of people, just a lot of wildlife. Strange though, there aren't many predators in this area either."

"At least we got a scenic hike out of the deal." Kris shrugged his bag off his shoulder and set it alongside Elsa's.

It was clear that they had a routine for missions, and Anna couldn't help the stab of jealousy that rushed through her at the sight. She found it hard not to feel defensive or resentful that the pair of them seemed to have such little faith in her plan. In a way it was commentary on Anna's performance, and a a poor commentary at that. In the wake of Anna forgetting an essential item from her supply list, the last thing she needed was for nothing to turn up with regard to the cult.

Anna tensed, holding the bar that Elsa had tossed her so tightly that she could feel it squishing inside the packaging. "I'd like to see you come up with a better plan, Fido."

Regret and confusion poured through her in an instant as the words she had said dawned on her. Why had she said them? She hadn't even thought them, but they had come out as if she intended them. Elsa was looking at her a little wide eyed, not quite the deer in the headlights but clearly taken aback at the jab. Anna's throat felt tight as she opened her mouth to express her confusion at what she had said, but what came out was so, so much worse than she could have expected.

"Listen, Rover. Why don't you go all furry for us and just track them, huh? That's about all you're good for, isn't it? Come on, make our lives easier and just put that pretty little nose to the ground for us."

If the look Elsa had had on her face at the first comment could have been called surprise, the look on her face now was clearly hurt. It was an unfamiliar sight on Elsa's face, and far more painful to see than Anna ever expected. Anna watched helplessly as Elsa shook her head a little and exhaled a soft, disbelieving breath. She was blinking rapidly, and an obvious divot had taken up residence between her eyebrows.

"Anna, what the fuck?" Kris' voice was slightly raised as he placed himself between Elsa and Anna, acting as a barrier.

 _I don't know. I don't know!_ Anna thought, fighting the second, more intense surge of jealousy at seeing Kris so protective of Elsa, hearing him drop the professionalism of their 'last names only on missions' rule to scold her like a child.

She wanted to open her mouth again and try to explain, but the idea of saying something potentially worse (if there _was_ anything worse than what had already been said) was more than enough to make her hesitate. Instead she took off in the other direction, leaving her bag behind for them to watch until she could sort out what was going on with her. They had just established that the area was relatively safe, so she was sure that a short walk to clear her head would be more than alright here.

But the further she got from her team the clearer her position became. A voice that she hadn't even really heard before grew louder and louder in her head with each step she took away from her group. It wheedled and urged her to turn around, to go back and suggested the most horrible things to say. The insults were no longer just related to Elsa, but to Kris as well, and each was more awful than the last.

The volume grew and grew until it became disorienting, as if the voice were outside of her mind rather than inside of it. Even as she clasped her hands over her ears and pressed her eyes closed, her desperate attempts to will the noise away were failing. She hunched over in pain, resisting the urge to cry out as the roar of insults in her mind reached a crescendo.

Just as she thought her brain would explode from the noise, sounds began to penetrate the veil of internal screaming in quick succession. A whooshing sound, then loud rustling, as if something was running through brush, and finally a resounding thump. The last thing she heard before the roaring screaming was replaced with utter, complete silence was the sound of a pained shriek.

She tensed as she felt the warmth and pressure of hands on her arms in the silence. The hands were strong, but gentle, and without looking she could feel that it was Elsa. But knowing who it was only made Anna clench her eyes shut even tighter, forcing silent tears down her cheeks. Her chest burned with anger as she tried to hold them in, but the more she fought them the more tears came.

One hand slipped from her arm, then the second, and Anna's heart ached painfully in their absence. She sobbed, but even sounds that she was making herself didn't seem to make it through the overwhelming silence. Then she felt a gentle pressure on her hands, which were still covering her own ears, and she let her arms be guided back down to her side. She kept her head down as shame filled every part of her, but when Elsa's fingers touched beneath her chin she raised it without a fight.

Anna could feel her lip quavering as she fought the urge to open her eyes, but it didn't take her long to realize that she couldn't delay the inevitable forever. Slowly she opened her eyes, but couldn't bring herself to look right at Elsa. Elsa pressed up on Anna's chin again, forcing their eyes to meet. Surprise washed over Anna as she realized that Elsa's lips were moving. In spite of her gentle touches she looked frantic, her eyes were wild with panic.

"I can't." Anna tried to say, wondering if she was making any sound at all. "I can't hear you."

Watching the panic set further into Elsa's face was heartbreaking. The already present worry lines seemed to deepen as her expression changed, and her eyes glimmered with something Anna couldn't define, something dark and fearful all at once. Her lips kept moving though, and she shook her head as she let loose of Anna's chin and gripped her shoulders instead. Anna wasn't sure if Elsa was trying to steady her, or to steady herself.

As Anna began to plan out her life without her hearing, the silence began to retreat little by little. The words swam at first, but as they cleared Anna received a brief glimpse of what Elsa had been saying to her.

"- _knew_ I shouldn't have brought you here. Gods, I'm a fool, I can't believe how irresponsible I-"

"Elsa, I think..." Anna paused, breathing a happy little laugh, "I think I'm okay."

The relief that flooded Elsa's face calmed Anna's nerves a little. Then, she seemed to realize that she was still touching Anna and withdrew with lightning speed. Anna was almost sure that she had heard a small, nervous sound come from Elsa, but she couldn't be certain.

"We should get you back to camp." And just like that, the professional mask had fallen back over Elsa's face as she straightened her spine. "And it's West on missions, remember? Come on, Fields."

Anna followed in silence, watching Elsa limp without complaint over to a black lump with an arrow sticking out of it. With each step closer the thing became more defined, until it was clear that it was a massive raven, or something that looked like a raven anyway. Elsa put her boot on the thing's chest, wincing as she drew her arrow back out, then wiped the blood on her pants and grabbed the thing by one of its' legs before she motioned for Anna to follow.

As they came back upon the area that they had left Kris in, he clearly looked like he had something to say about having been left behind, but a single glance from Elsa seemed to be all he needed to keep his mouth shut. Then, with little ceremony, Elsa tossed the bird into the space between she and Kris and his eyes went wide.

"You're kidding." Kris approached the bird, gripping one of the wings and spreading it out and looking on intently. "This is a crazy find, too bad it's dead. Did you really have to kill it?"

"Oh yes, too bad." Elsa limped over to her bag, making a sour face at Kris as he continued inspecting the bird. "Shame it couldn't have lived longer, there's really nothing I enjoy more than verbal abuse."

Anna felt as if she could have curled in on herself right then and there at the very mention of the hateful things she had said to Elsa. "Elsa, I'm so-"

"West." Elsa corrected firmly as she dug in her bag. "And unless that apology is for not knowing what that thing is then I don't want to hear it."

Kris had now spread both wings of the bird out and begun taking measurements, jotting notes on a small notepad he had produced seemingly from nowhere. Anna watched with mild interest, but in truth she was racking her brain for a name. It wasn't as if there were an abundance of raven-like creatures that she knew of, but the one option she did know of just didn't seem to fit what had happened.

"That can't be what I think it is." Anna finally said, resolute in her statement.

"And just what do you think it is?" Elsa asked as she gently pressed on her thigh, as if checking the severity of her injury.

"It could only be a Valravn." Anna answered, but it wasn't until she saw Elsa briefly smile that she was certain her suspicion was correct. "But that doesn't make sense. There aren't accounts of auditory hallucination, or forced speech."

Elsa hummed, putting weight on her injured leg until she winced. "Yeah, well there wouldn't be too many accounts of anything at all, given that most people who encounter them end up as a corpse, sans heart."

Anna swallowed hard, the prospect of having narrowly avoided such a fate nauseated her. "If you hadn't come after me-"

"You had weapons. You would have been fine." Elsa sighed, almost dramatically, though there was a note of certainty in her voice that irked Anna.

The sound of indignation that escaped Anna went ignored, but a glance from Elsa sent the argument that had been on the edge of Anna's tongue slithering back down her throat. She hadn't really understood how Elsa could silence Kris with a glance, but experiencing it first hand explained everything. There was a deep, unquestionable power there when she chose to exert it.

"Auditory hallucinations, huh?" Kris asked, not taking his eyes off the Valravn.

"Not at first, not that I recognized anyway. It's like something else was speaking through me, while I was standing here anyway. It wasn't until I tried to get away from the two of you that I could hear something else in my head. It was so, so loud..."

"She was momentarily deafened, but somehow it happened internally." Elsa added matter of factly, "When I got to her she had her hands over her ears, as if she was hearing something overwhelmingly loud, but there was hardly anything louder than that thing shrieking as it died. And that certainly wasn't loud enough to make her hearing fade, even temporarily."

"Fascinating." Kris sounded excited, in spite of the danger that Anna had been in.

"Could be why there were no predators around." Elsa muttered, "Probably a lot easier to get the more dangerous things to kill one another than to get prey to kill one another."

"Could be." Kris agreed, "Man, even if we don't find anything this alone will be valuable enough to have warranted the mission."

"Aren't you done with that thing yet, Kris?" Elsa looked mildly disgusted as she hefted her bag onto her shoulder, then her bow and quiver. "We should get back to camp."

Apology after apology whirled in Anna's head all the while they marched back to camp, but the right words were difficult to find. By the time they had finished dinner Kris left the pair of them alone by the fire again, and it didn't take long for a painful, awkward silence to fall between them. Anna barely withstood a moment of it before she couldn't handle it any longer.

"Um. I didn't get to ask before, but, are you alright? I saw you limping and-"

"I'm fine." Elsa replied quickly, but she seemed to see Anna's irritation and hastily added, "I _will_ be fine. With some rest. Just a minor wound."

"Minor wound." Anna parroted, growing more aggravated the more nonchalant Elsa acted about her injury, "For sure. Only a minor wound would make you limp like that."

"Are you suggesting that you would like to treat my injuries again," Elsa paused, her voice going smooth and playful as she added, "Anna?"

Anna couldn't decide if it was the gentle gust of cold wind or Elsa's words that had caused a chill to slowly rise up her spine, but either way she couldn't suppress the shiver that rocked her. It was brief, but Elsa smiled as she let her eyes slip shut and hung her head forward.

"I apologize. I shouldn't tease you like I do." Elsa sighed, raising her head and glancing at Anna. "I've been around Kris for too long."

"What? No! I can take it." Anna knew the haste with which she had replied was likely making her look a little silly, but she laughed it off. "Still, I think we should at least look at your wound."

 _And I think you shouldn't sleep in the cold._ Anna couldn't bring herself to say the words, at least not now, but she knew she would have to before the end of the night. She felt guilty enough for the things she had said under the influence of the Valravn, but to have Elsa sleep outside with an injury on top of that would be too much for her to bear.

"Why?" Elsa breathed the word, a hint of disbelief in her tone. "It'll be fine by morning, so why should you care?"

"Because." Anna huffed, scooting herself closer to Elsa. "I care if you're hurt. A broken arm will heal too, but if you let it heal without checking it it might not be usable once it's healed."

Elsa had a strange look on her face, conflicted but not unhappily so. She seemed to be avoiding looking right at Anna, at least that's how it looked from Anna's perspective. Still, it didn't take long for Elsa to concede.

"Fine."

Elsa stood and in an instant her fingers were working the button and zipper on her pants, sending a wave of heat up Anna's neck. As the material slid down Elsa's legs, though, Anna could focus on nothing but the wide set of gouges in Elsa's thigh. The blood seemed to only begin to ooze once the fabric was removed, and despite the wounds being relatively deep there had been no rips in the fabric itself.

"Oh Elsa." Anna clambered up from her seat and ran to their tent, grabbing some antiseptic and their first aid kit. "This looks so bad, I can't believe you've been walking around on this! How are your pants not soaked in blood?"

"It could have been worse," Elsa laughed once, running her fingers idly near the wounds, "I could have been wearing regular clothes. Morph fabric is made to shift and change with me, so it doesn't tear easily. The skin beneath it though..."

"I would hate to see what you would call worse if this isn't it." Anna huffed, dabbing an antiseptic covered rag over every ragged tear in Elsa's skin.

Elsa never made a sound of protest, but her the muscles in her thigh twitched every time Anna touched on a particularly deep portion of the wound. The blood was minimal, but Anna suppressed her mild surprise with a reminder of how little she really knew about werewolves. By the time she was done cleaning the wound her fingers felt like ice in the chilly air, and she knew Elsa had to be nearly frozen from standing half naked in the cold. _Now or never._

"You're sleeping with me tonight." Anna insisted as she rose to her feet and stared Elsa down, hoping that she had left no trace of weakness or give in her voice. "We can't expect you to be at your best if you're hurt and freezing out here."

"How could I resist such a romantic invitation?" Elsa feigned a swoon, but stumbled a little on her injured leg.

"Just get in the tent before you hurt yourself." Anna groaned, grabbing Elsa's pants and tossing them at her before holding the zippered flap open.

Elsa clambered in and spent a moment unrolling her sleeping bag before wriggling out of her shirt and into the bag. Anna slipped into her own bag shortly after Elsa had settled, making a concentrated effort not to be too invasive of Elsa's space, a feat made all the more difficult by the size of the tent they shared.

"Just shove me if I roll in the night." Elsa said quietly, rolling to face away from Anna.

"Y-yeah, sure." Anna pulled the edge of her sleeping bag tightly around her neck, praying to any deity that would listen to keep her from embarrassing herself.

 _It's going to be a long night_.


	13. To the Edge

Chapter Thirteen: To the Edge

Soft rays of early morning sunlight penetrated the treetops, streaming through the fabric of Anna's tent and, much to her irritation, straight into her eyes. Anna made a grumpy sound, groaning as she shuffled deeper into her sleeping bag to get away from the light. The longer she lay there though, the more her mind began to function. First she recalled that they were camping, and then...

Anna started, drawing in sharp breath as the realization that she wasn't alone dawned on her. She twisted rapidly in her sleeping bag, shuffling a little louder than she intended to, only to realize that she was, in fact, alone. Where Elsa had been before Anna fell asleep now sat a perfectly coiled sleeping bag, and deep in Anna's stomach a tiny seed of disappointment planted itself.

 _Of course she's up before me_ Anna thought wryly to herself, quickly slipping out of her sleeping bag and changing into a fresh pair of clothes _Why couldn't I just magically wake up early for once?_

She had no doubt in her mind that if she was the last one up again the teasing would be merciless, particularly since she had slept straight through Elsa getting up, so Anna moved as quickly as she could to get herself together. She stumbled out of the tent headfirst, falling straight into a pair of solid arms.

"Where's the fire?" Elsa asked.

Anna felt hands steadying her, then Elsa stepped back and away from her, all the while giving her a concerned look.

"I" Anna paused, "thought I was late. For the mission."

Elsa exhaled, but judging by the small smile on her face she was clearly amused. "Not quite. Can't you hear Kris?"

Anna didn't even have to look away from Elsa to hear the loud, rumbling snores coming from Kris' tent. Either he was still sleeping or there was a bear inside his tent, but a bear might have been quieter.

Anna laughed sheepishly, "Right. Should have known. You get hurt and he's the one to sleep in."

"Disappointed?"

Elsa was looking strangely at Anna, and the look paired with the question made her freeze for a second. She couldn't quite tell from the tone of Elsa's voice if she was teasing her or not, but even the uncertainty couldn't keep the heat from her face.

"The longer he sleeps, the longer I have to review the route for today." Anna replied with a shrug, as casual as she could manage, before slipping back into the tent to fetch her notes for their journey.

Elsa was still standing just where Anna had left her as she exited the tent again and, after stepping carefully around her, Anna headed straight for the little fire that happily crackled nearby. Elsa must have been awake for some time, Anna surmised, but she put the thought aside as she spread out a map of the forest and satellite images of the area in front of her. The area they were to search today was relatively small compared to the ones prior, and yet she couldn't contain the spark of excitement at the thought of what could lie ahead of them.

The sound of Elsa clearing her throat registered in Anna's mind, but it wasn't until the second time she did it, this time with a little more insistence, that Anna glanced up at her. With one hand Elsa was offering Anna the handle of a mug that steamed in the cool morning air, and with the other she was rubbing at the back of her neck.

"Hm?" Anna hummed, "Oh..."

"It's not as nice as what you brought me, but it'll have to do." Elsa said the words almost as if she were upset, but the look on her face was much softer than her voice sounded.

"Thanks?" Anna hesitantly took the mug and gave it a sniff. It smelled heavily of chocolate, with a hint of mint.

"I just-" Elsa began, stopping herself before she made it too far into her sentence. She shook her head, and made a small gesture with her hand before dropping it to her side. "I wanted to say thanks. For last night. Most people wouldn't have...just, thanks."

The way Elsa was stumbling over her 'thank you' was a clear sign that she wasn't often on this end of the gesture, but Anna wasn't about to call her out on it. Instead Anna smiled into her mug as she sipped her drink, letting the warmth of the chocolate and the cool, earthiness of the mint blend in her mouth before swallowing.

Anna assumed this was some sort of ritual, a hot drink in the morning to get the body moving. It was likely something that Elsa usually shared with Kris, and in his temporary absence she had substituted the gesture to Anna instead. Still, it was sweet in its' own way.

"Of course." Anna said with an air of certainty, setting the mostly full mug aside. "You would do the same for me."

Elsa made a small grunt of acknowledgment, then circled around behind Anna to look over her shoulder at the map. Almost immediately Elsa noted "Seems like a logical path through the area."

"I thought so. But if the terrain is different than I expect we may be in for some trouble."

"Is there a reason for you to think it will be? Or are you just paranoid about everything?" Elsa asked with a small laugh.

Anna sighed, gesturing to a portion of the marked off area and waggling her finger back and forth between the map and satellite photos. "The aerial footage I found online seemed to look like everywhere else, but something about the image just...it's wrong."

"You think it was altered?"

Anna felt a light pressure on her shoulder, then whatever had been set there slipped down and forward into her lap. She glanced down to see that Elsa had given her a protein bar and all hopes of a real breakfast were thrown out the metaphorical window. Resentfully, Anna took small bites of it as she mentally willed it to be something more tasty, and less 'nutritionally complete.'

"I've seen a lot of altered photos, this one doesn't _look_ wrong necessarily, but something about it is off. It's almost like the image shouldn't line up the way it does." Anna knew she likely sounded like she was complaining, and part of her was, but she hoped voicing her concerns might spark a new viewpoint from Elsa.

Elsa didn't retort, or make a sound, but Anna's razor focus on the map blurred as she felt heat pouring over her back. Elsa must have been standing closer, maybe even leaning over Anna, but Anna couldn't see just how close she was without turning around to face her. Anna sat as still as she could, listening to Elsa's even, slow breathing in her ear.

"I'll take the lead today then." Elsa finally stated, startling Anna a little with the forcefulness of the declaration. "If something's amiss I'll see it, and deal with it. "

"Maybe I could." Anna suggested carefully, letting go of a breath she hadn't realized she was holding. She shifted where she was sitting so she could face Elsa without being too close. "Be at the front I mean. I've studied this map, I know where the break is, I know-"

"No." Elsa said firmly, a hard line of tension taking up residence along her jaw. She worried at her lip for a half a second before adding, "Absolutely not."

"How can I learn if you keep me off the front lines?" Anna asked, her tone a little sharper than she intended. "I'm not some fragile-"

"But you are." Elsa's voice wasn't raised, but something about the way she said it made Anna wince. Elsa blinked a few times and took a deep breath, averting her eyes up toward the treetops. "You, and Kris. You're both so breakable. I can handle whatever threat is ahead. What I can't handle is..."

Elsa trailed off, and though Anna waited for the rest of the sentence none ever came. There was pain written plainly on Elsa's face, she wasn't even bothering to hide it, and as angry as Anna wanted to be at the suggestion that she wasn't capable she simply couldn't voice her frustrations. Something was there, Elsa wanted to talk to her, but lacking the courage to prod at the subject Anna settled for sitting in silence, studying her map.

Kris was up not long after that, and once he was there was no stopping the plan that Elsa set in motion. She took the lead, just as she said she would, leaving Anna sandwiched between her and Kris as they hiked through their section for the day. Elsa was moving slower than she had on their previous hikes, and Anna could see her head turning this way and that as she made a point of checking their surroundings as often as she could.

"Well, well." Elsa sounded amused as she side stepped to allow Anna and Kris to see what lay ahead, "Seems you were right, Fields."

Anna floundered at the small praise, but the sight ahead of them sapped that small amount of joy right back out of her. The trees ahead of them simply stopped at a sharp, clearly defined line. The earth on their side was lush with life, healthy, but past the line the ground was exposed, cracked and dry as if a drought had sapped every ounce of moisture from it. No trace of life could be seen past the line, not a whisper of grass, nor a single plant had managed to survive whatever caused this.

"No, that can't be right." Anna said, digging the photos of the area out of her bag and taking a step forward. "We've barely started exploring this area, I don't know of anything that could stop an entire ecosystem so sharply this way and-" Anna felt a soft thud across her chest, strong enough to stop her from moving forward. She glanced up from her map to see Elsa's arm extended, though Elsa was still staring forward. The look on her face was hard to read, somewhere between cautious and determined.

"Stay here." Elsa ordered, that familiar firm edge to her words as she handed off her bag off to Kris, then with a melancholy look on her face she handed her her bow and quiver to Anna. "Keep those safe. I'll check it out."

Anna looked to Kris, knowing full well that her disbelief at having been literally left holding the bags was written all over her face, but Kris only raised a critical brow at her. She rolled her eyes in response, then crossed her arms over her chest as she watched Elsa like a hawk. Elsa was carefully edging her way toward the expanse of nothingness, pausing here and there to kneel on the ground and pick up some of the soil to sniff it. She even went so far as to toss a few twigs and a stones into the area, as if testing for a trap.

Anna's stomach tightened and she shifted nervously as her mind raced with possibilities, almost all of them horrible. Was it something in the soil causing everything to die? Was it possible the cult was nearby, and had something to do with this odd zone of death?

She made a sound halfway between a gasp and a choked whine as Elsa stepped firmly into the circle, then held her breath as Elsa's foot rested on the soil for a moment before she took another step in, then another. Elsa turned back to them and shrugged in an exaggerated enough way that they were able to clearly make out the gesture at a distance. When Kris motioned for them to join Elsa, Anna didn't need any extra encouragement to close the distance.

"I think we're fine." Elsa asserted quietly, turning her hands over in the sunlight as if seeing if the rays were doing something to her skin. "I can't smell anything out of the ordinary. A poison strong enough to kill off entire trees would leave a trace or a residue of some kind and I'm not seeing anything like that. Kris?"

"I can't think of anything that would cause this." He said with a shrug, "But it doesn't feel off."

Elsa seemed quick to accept the non-answer, but the simple acceptance of a situation this blatantly supernatural put Anna on edge. "How does it not 'feeling off' have any bearing on whether or not we go out into it? You just trust his gut feeling? What if he's wrong?"

"Ah," Elsa paused, looking to Kris as if trying to decide how to explain herself. "well, he's right more often than not."

Kris waggled his fingers in Anna's direction, but the gesture only served to make Anna all the more uneasy. He wasn't wrong, not in a way that she could argue with any certainty, but something about pushing through here with inaccurate information struck her as utterly foolish.

"Are you sure we should go on?" Anna hesitated, "We were prepared for trees, shade, this is..."

"Do I hear you balking at your own mission, Fields?" Elsa asked evenly, the slightest upturn of a smile tugging at the corners of her mouth.

"No." Anna snapped, shoving Elsa's bow and quiver back to her. "Of course not."

"Just stay with me, kid." Kris chimed in, chucking Elsa's bag at her before linking his arm with Anna's, smiling broadly at her, "We'll be safer together."

Even with Elsa's assertion that they would be fine, and Kris' strange, unfounded confidence that the area was safe enough to traverse, Anna couldn't help but worry. Trees were visible far off in the distance, well beyond the area they were set to investigate today, and yet in this massive field there was just nothing. It was as if a bomb had gone off and somehow not affected anything outside of some kind of protective boundary.

As Anna mulled over possibilities, Elsa came to a full stop ahead of her and nearly caused a collision. "Hey, what are you-"

But Anna's words simply stopped coming as she looked around Elsa's and saw what had caused them to stop. It was a sudden drop off, a sharp line of uneven earth that separated the ground they stood on from a dark chasm below.

"Well that's...unexpected." Kris piped up from the back of their queue.

"And the random area of _death_ wasn't?" Anna scoffed, shoving gently at Kris' shoulder.

"Stop." Elsa said through grit teeth, "Back up, slowly."

"We're not that close to the-" Kris began, his tone light at first but quickly sharpening with fear as he jumped back a few feet. "Shit!"

Anna studied the ledge ahead, noting that it visually seemed sturdy enough. She made to open her mouth and argue that they were likely safe, but her argument was cut short by the sudden, harsh sound of earth breaking free from the ledge ahead.

It was as if time slowed from the moment her brain registered what the sound was. Fear glued Anna to the spot, unable to react as she watched cracks bloom at the edge of the crevice and creep toward them. A hand gripped her arm tight and yanked her backward, tugging her along, pulling her back toward the tree line. Voices blurred in her ears as she ran, warring with the sound of rapidly shifting earth for supremacy in her mind. Then a scream, and the figure ahead of her ran past her in the opposite direction.

"NO!"

The word was bellowed, guttural and strained, and when Anna whipped around the sight was one she never expected. Elsa's arms and upper body were visible above the newly formed mouth of the chasm, Kris was at a distance, and had clearly stopped mid sprint the moment Elsa told him to. The cracking earth seemed to have stopped advancing for the moment, but Anna could feel her chest constricting as she struggled to breathe, each breath not feeling as if it filled her lungs.

"West!" Anna choked the word out, frantically stepping forward.

"Stay there!" Elsa screamed, struggling to pull herself up over ledge as little pieces crumbled around her.

"West, please! Let us help!" Anna took another step forward, desperate to try anything in spite of the feeling of dread swallowing her. Kris stepped in front of Anna as she tried to continue her advance, effectively blocking her from going further, but he couldn't stop her from calling out again. "West!"

She watched as Elsa dug her hands into the dirt heaved with all her might, and joy rushed into her chest as it looked like Elsa would be able to heft herself over the edge. But those happy emotions drained from her in an instant as the ground Elsa was gripping crumbled beneath her. It was brief, but there was a flash of something black and vine like from behind Elsa, and with a rough growl Elsa began to slide down again.

Tears prickled hot in the corner of Anna's eyes as she struggled against Kris, beating her fists against his chest as he turned to keep her from running toward the ledge. Anger tore at her as she tried to work her way through Kris, until she let out a strangled cry, "Elsa!"

With a single hand thrust upward in a final attempt to save herself, Elsa was dragged beyond the edge of the crevice and down into the blackness below. Anna didn't know how many times she had called out for Elsa before she collapsed into Kris' arms, and time seemed to pass painfully slowly as he lifted her over his shoulder and carried her back into the tree line.

"We have to go back!" Anna slammed a fist onto Kris' back, but the action didn't even earn her a grunt of pain. "We can't leave her, we have to go-"

Abruptly Kris dropped Anna forward, grabbing her roughly by the shoulders. "We can't!"

Anna had never seen him like this, his face was flushed and wet with tears, his eyes red and swollen, and she could feel his hands shaking on her shoulders. He was just as worried as she was, probably more so.

"We can't just leave her, I won't." Anna asserted, trying to sound firm in spite of her sniffling. "We're only here because of me."

"I don't want to leave her, Fields." Kris let go of her, wiping the tears from his eyes with the palms of his hands. "But we have to follow protocol."

"Proto-" Anna huffed angrily, shaking her head at the idiocy of the statement, "Pray tell, what's the protocol for 'team leader dragged into a chasm by mystery creature?'"

"We have to re-group, Fields." Kris said firmly, "I don't like it any more than you do but when a party member is lost we have to head back to camp and make a plan. We can't just go barreling in-"

"She did!" Anna shouted, then dropped her voice to a near whimper as she raised a hand to cradle her head. "She came after me when that Valravn was in my head, and now you're telling me that we can't go after her?"

"That's different." Kris said, wincing as Anna shot him a hard glare. "She's stronger than-"

"She's not invincible!" Anna growled in frustration, "You're both just too wrapped up in your sense of duty to see that she's putting herself in harms way when she could be sharing the burden with us!"

"I _know_."

The words should have been shouted, Anna thought, bellowed back at her as she had been yelling at him, but they weren't. Kris looked more remorseful by the second, then he began pacing.

"She would have had my hide if we went after her." Kris spoke quickly, gesticulating unnecessarily as he walked back and forth in front of Anna. "And if I had let you go back-"

"What does it matter?" Anna groaned, dropping her hands to her sides and clenching them into fists, "So she would have yelled at us, at least if we had helped her she would be here!"

"Or we would all be down there..."

Kris gave her a look that did little to quell the dismay building inside of her. She wouldn't admit it verbally, but she knew that he had a point. From here they could form a plan for a rescue, but if they were all down there, then there might not have been a chance of survival for any of them.

As gently as he could, Kris guided her back to camp. He set her down and built a small fire for them, and even went so far as to boil water to make them both some cocoa to warm them as the night chill crept in. Anna fretted, worrying that Elsa may not have been wearing the right clothes for the day, that she might be cold somewhere while they sat warming themselves by a fire.

"She's okay." Kris muttered over the rim of his mug, glancing at Anna for only a second before re-focusing on the fire and nodding to himself.

"How do you know?" Anna asked without hesitation. "What if she's cold, or hurt? Or..."

She couldn't let herself finish the thought, it was too dark and far too much for her to handle. She lifted her mug to her lips at last, taking a sip. It tasted like Kris had been heavy handed with whatever he had used to flavor it, and there was no trace of the mint that was in the mug Elsa gave her this morning.

"Do you not like mint?"

"Huh?" Kris asked, looking a little dazed. "Mint?"

"Yeah, this is just...plain." Anna remarked, swirling the liquid in the mug. "Not that it's not good but this morning there was mint."

Kris sat quietly for a moment, looking Anna over with a concerned expression. "We didn't bring mint. Are you sure you're alright? Maybe you should lie down."

Anna's brows came together and the tension in her shoulders increased as she worked through the logic. If they hadn't brought mint, then that meant that Elsa had had a reason to be up so early. She had chosen to rise earlier than Anna in order to forage mint from the surrounding area specifically to do something nice for Anna. Her gesture of good will had been more than a simple cup of something warm to drink, and Anna had taken it for granted. She hadn't even finished it.

Guilt gnawed at her until she felt too numb to stay awake any longer. She woke the next morning with a miserable groan, the sound of someone who had attempted to sleep, but hadn't been entirely successful.

"You up?" Kris called from outside.

"Obviously." Anna snapped, feeling only slightly guilty for being so harsh.

By the time Anna had changed and gotten her things together for the day, Kris was outside with a few protein bars in hand.

"I've got a plan, but you're not going to like it." He said, hesitantly extending breakfast to her.

Anna narrowed her eyes at him, but snatched the bar out of his hand all the same. Somehow, there was even less taste in it than usual this morning. "What is it?"

"We need to get in contact with S.N.O., we have a sat phone to call in for emergencies. They would likely send a team in to assist in her extraction, but we'd probably be sent home and-"

"And the mission will be abandoned." Anna finished his sentence, the words leaving a sour taste in her mouth. "Kris, if somebody really is out here, then-"

"Then what do you suggest?" Kris snapped back at her, then he released a frustrated growl,"We can't run in there blind. Do _you_ know what the hell pulled her down?"

"I-" Anna faltered, her mind blanking on anything that might have looked even remotely similar to those strange, inky black vines that snatched Elsa away from them. "No, but that doesn't mean-"

"It _does_ mean." Kris asserted, though he didn't look as if he was entirely sure what Anna had been about to say.

"We can get to her, I know we can."

Kris huffed in response to Anna's bold statement, but after a few seconds of tense silence his shoulders fell and his expression softened. "If, and I do mean _if_ , we were to go after her, how would you propose we get to her?"

"Area three." Anna said firmly, whipping the map out and lining up the satellite images above it so she could gesture between them. "The edge of that chasm was curved, and we were focused on not dying so it's hard to be entirely sure, but I'd be willing to bet that area three dips down far enough to let us climb in. If we're careful."

"Area three." Kris repeated, shaking his head in disbelief as he stared down at the map.

For a long while he stood there, just looking. His eyes took in every detail as he touched and poked at the map, as if marking out distance and how long it might take them to get to the area Anna spoke of.

"Well?" Anna asked, nearly breathless with anticipation.

Kris' lips drew into a thin line, but he nodded. "Let's go get her."

Suddenly signs of a cult didn't matter anymore, for now their sole focus was making sure that if Elsa was out here that they found her. They were careful, but not overly so as they pressed through heavily wooded areas, pausing only to reference the map to be certain they were approaching the area correctly. Kris had let Anna take the lead, a fact that made her more uneasy than she expected it to.

Her mind kept traveling back to the prior day, wondering just what might have happened if she had been the one at the front instead of Elsa. Would someone have caught her? Grabbed her by the shirt, maybe, to pull her back from the ledge? Or would she have fallen, been dragged down by whatever that was?

"You really don't have any idea what that thing was?" Anna spoke loudly, not wanting to turn around and risk falling on her face without someone there to catch her.

"I'd say a land Kraken, but I feel like you might hit me for making a bad joke."

Anna could practically hear the lopsided smile in his voice. It was a welcome ray of hope in an otherwise emotionally murky day, but she could only manage a small exhale of breath through her nose in response. _We're coming for you_.

 _ **a/n: I realize this chapter is a bit shorter than previous ones, I simply didn't have a good place to leave off without splitting scenes up. The next chapter will begin where our parties split ways earlier in this chapter.**_


	14. The Hardest Way

14: The Hardest Way

"Stop." Elsa urged Kris through grit teeth, her heart racing as the blackness in the chasm below began to writhe. "Back up, slowly."

"We're not that close to the- Shit!"

Elsa turned on her heels and raced after Kris. She watched him snag a bewildered looking Anna and breathed a sigh of relief, with the two of them well ahead she could be certain that they wouldn't be hurt by whatever this was. The sounds of the ground cracking and ripping itself apart beneath her feet hadn't been enough to draw a reaction from her, but the sudden, tight grip of something around her ankle certainly was.

Elsa screamed, but the sound was cut short as she fell forward onto the newly formed ledge. The wind was knocked from her chest, but even still she struggled against the tightening grip on her ankle. As she began lifting herself up, kicking all the while, she caught sight of Kris running back in her direction.

Fear settled in her stomach like a stone. If he came too close Anna would be alone. Elsa could fall alone, could fight alone, but Kris and Anna needed each other out here in this wild. With everything she had left in her she bellowed at Kris, "NO!"

He stopped on a dime but Elsa could see the terror written all over his face. Her chest rose and fell quickly as she struggled, frantically clawing at the ground ahead of her to try and lift herself out of the grip of this thing below. Then, Anna called out to her.

"West!" She sounded as if she was scared and Elsa could see her stepping forward, trying to get closer.

"Stay there!" Elsa screamed, trying to keep her voice as even as she could, hoping that might maintain a sense of calm among the rest of her team in the face of this unknown.

"West, please! Let us help!" Anna called out. Then in a more frustrated, desperate tone she added, "West!"

The thing tugged on her leg. Light little movements at first, then harder as Elsa struggled to pull herself up and over the ledge. If she could get over, she told herself, it would be much easier to get this damned thing off of her. Her arms shook with the exertion of holding herself aloft, fending off the downward pulls of whatever was below, but it was too much. Almost intelligently it switched tactics and pulled in a smooth motion, not a jerk but a pull with such even force that Elsa simply couldn't hold on any longer.

She swore as she went over the ledge that she had heard someone call out her name, but the immediate feeling of weightlessness in her stomach wrenched all other thoughts from her mind. The queasiness it brought with it was short lived as her shoulder painfully connected with solid ground, sending the first of many shock waves of pain racking through her body.

 _I'm going to die_ Elsa thought to herself as she began falling again. Pain skated across her skin as she tumbled down, burning like fire as each contact with the chasm wall scraped at her. Desperation to survive gripped her tightly as she rolled and fell in turn, but no manner of thrashing or gripping at the crumbling earth along the chasm wall seemed to slow her hellish descent into the maw of darkness below.

With each sharp impact she came more and more undone, sputtering and rasping as she willed any small bit of air back into her lungs. She shifted her arms and hands, trying with each brief contact to grab hold of something,anything, but just as quickly as the journey downward had begun Elsa felt one final harsh jolt before it all seemed to stop.

 _I've died._ She assured herself, her body shaking as the ache of the miserable experience began to settle in.

Elsa's eyes clenched shut as she wheezed, chest burning with each short, ragged breath she coaxed in. Pinpoints of bright light seemed to flash in the darkness behind her eyelids. As she forced her eyes open the world around her blurred into view, but from the ground all she could see was sky. Sky and the impossibly high ledge she had just been pulled from, but no sign of the black, slithering vines that had pulled her over.

Elsa rolled to her side and blood dribbled down from her lips in a small but steady stream, the taste of it ignited a sick feeling in her stomach. With quivering arms she lifted herself up onto her hands and knees inch by painful inch, only to find that here in the belly of the chasm things seemed to be an eerie mirror of the world above.

The ground below her was just as dead and dry as it had been above. It stretched outward in an odd semi-circle here, too, and after the 'death line' trees grew thick and lush. If she hadn't just seen the ledge high above her head, she might have thought she had imagined the whole thing. As her breathing evened, Elsa swallowed. The ledge was far too high and much too fragile to attempt to climb back up, so her options were few and far between. _Into the woods, then_.

Her legs wobbled beneath her as she tried to stand, buckling and dropping her back to the ground in a pitiable cloud of dust. Then, a familiar cracking sound set her heart to racing. She croaked out a protest of pain, but fear won out and she shot back up to her feet, stumbling and propelling herself toward the relative safety of the trees and away from the ominous creaking and groaning of the ground below.

Relief flooded her as her hand touched the first of the sturdy trees and the creaking sound from the ground seemed to stop in an instant. As she stood there bracing herself against a particularly large tree Elsa cursed under her breath as she realized that she was bleeding somewhere beneath her suit. The feeling was familiar and altogether uncomfortable, as if someone had placed a broad, slimy slug into her suit with her. She consoled herself with the knowledge that at least the design of the suit would help keep pressure on any major wounds until she could rest and heal.

"Elsa!"

Elsa's head snapped up at what she thought had been the faint sound of her name being called through the trees. Her eyes narrowed as she focused everything she had on listening, but she was met with silence. There came no footfalls nor the sound of crunching leaves, nor another shout of her name. Elsa shook her head, reminding herself how far, and how hard, she had just fallen.

 _Even if I didn't hit my head hard, I still might have-_

"Elsa?"

The second call was unmistakable. Someone in the trees was calling for her, knew her.

 _How long was I falling_? Elsa asked herself. But the longer she thought about it the less sense the thought seemed to make. Only Anna or Kris would use her first name, but there was no possible way for them to have managed to make it down here yet, right?

"Elsa, _please_!" came the voice again, but strain as she might Elsa couldn't hear any accompanying sounds. "Help me!"

"Come to me." Elsa croaked in response, her better judgment giving way to her desire to make sure her team was alright.

The answering silence stretched on for nearly a minute, making Elsa more anxious with each second that passed. Then the voice finally came again, desperate and frightened.

"It's coming, please Elsa help me!"

Elsa grit her teeth, stiffening as she tried to make her decision. She knew nothing about this area, and the voice could have easily been a trap, but now that she had heard it a few times she swore that it sounded like Anna.

"Damn it." Elsa cursed to herself, realizing that she had no other choice. She raised her voice, the words cracking as she added "Where are you?"

"There's some kind of clearing." came the voice again, this time sounding more desperate, and much more like Anna, than before, "Please, my leg..."

The sound made Elsa's chest ache as she reached out, as if trying to find a tangible thread of the voice to follow. Quietly as she could Elsa walked toward the sound. She tried to scent the air, to seek out any familiar smells, and realized that the only thing she could smell at all was the scent of her own blood.

"Stay ba-" Came a more masculine voice from ahead of her, "Wait, Els?"

"Kris?" Elsa's response was instantaneous, her hesitation beginning to waver as she frantically looked this way and that, trying to seek out any movement. They were here, but how?

"Oh thank goodness." Kris' voice came, she could even hear him breath a shaky sigh of relief, "We tried to follow you, but the rope slipped. She's hurt..."

Elsa stepped forward and there was a quiet sob followed by a hiss of breath inward, the sounds of someone in serious pain. Elsa knew she was closing in, but the lack of scent was unnerving. Even at the bloodiest of crime scenes she had always been able to thread out other scents, but here there was an oppressive nothingness. No smells on the wind, no sounds of movement, just nothing. Was it the trees, or her imagination? Had the fall knocked something loose in her senses?

"Guys?" Elsa called nervously, tensing as she made a quick little circle to check her surroundings again.

"She can't move, Els. You've got to get to us."

Guilt shot through her as she hesitated, swaying on the spot as she nearly began to move again but stopped herself before she took a step. Anna was hurt and she was hesitating. Her team was out here alone and she couldn't bring herself to move forward. The silence as she waited was deafening.

"Kris?" Elsa felt helpless, child-like as she stood trying to decide what to do.

"Elsa, come on!" Kris' voice called back, more clear and true to life than it had been a moment ago. "We've got to get her help!"

Elsa clenched her fist at her side, her throat tightening as she fought back the tears threatening to fall as she forced herself to stand still. Something was off, she wasn't sure what but something just wasn't right here.

"Kris, what's my favorite color?"

Silence. She exhaled a shaky breath as a few tears spilled over at the sound. The implication weighed heavily on her shoulders, but she steadied herself for what was to come.

"Els we don't have time for that, she's going to bleed out!" The voice that answered seemed distorted to her now, and the more desperately it pleaded with her to approach, the more unlike Kris it began to sound. "We've got to get her to safety, I can't carry her on my own!"

There was a gravel there that she hadn't heard before, a scraping, grating quality, one that was uncharacteristic of Kris. Calmly as she could Elsa tried to control her breathing as she walked herself through her situation. She was alone and quite injured in vastly unfamiliar territory, about to go head to head with at least one, possibly more, creatures that had somehow reached into her mind to produce fairly accurate mimics of voices that it had never heard. Or perhaps they _had_ run across Anna and Kris...

Elsa's stomach turned at the thought, but the more she considered her circumstances the more irrational that idea became. There was no way either of them could have made it down here, not yet. Even if Kris had called S.N.O. immediately they couldn't have made it to this remote area so quickly. There was still time for Elsa to find them again.

 _They're safe._ Elsa reassured herself, _They're safe, and if I'm careful I might stand a chance._

"Kris, I'm sorry." Elsa grit her teeth and hissed the words in exaggerated pain, all the while watching the surrounding trees for signs of movement. "I can't, the fall really did me in. Can you stop the bleeding?"

Finally the sound of crunching leaves caught her attention as the thing began to approach. With a slight distortion the voice answered, "Stay there, I'm coming to you."

 _I_ Elsa repeated in her head, _just one._ The footsteps that followed threw her for a moment, it sounded like a single person, or bipedal creature, approaching, but there was a slight disconnectedness in the steps. It was almost as if there was a quick echo after each footfall. _Four feet_.

Her hand twitched at her side as her breaths came more slowly, more heavily. Her typically razor sharp focus was hindered by the pain she was in, but even so Elsa concentrated with everything she had. She couldn't change until the very last second, not until the thing was here and nearly upon her, or she would risk being too weak to defend herself.

The footfalls grew louder and more frantic by the second. The thing was no doubt emboldened by the belief that Elsa had bought the trick, that she was injured and would be easy prey. But just as the sounds of it approaching had nearly allowed Elsa to pinpoint it, the sounds stopped entirely.

"Kris?" Elsa called out, "Kris, I just need help getting there, we can help her together if you just-"

A quick flash of brown shot into her line of sight from her left, leaving Elsa a mere fraction of a second to shift herself to the largest of her forms. The effort of the change was tremendous, far more difficult than any other time she had changed. Her already damaged skin felt as if it had been lit aflame as it stretched and shifted with her change.

Once she had the size advantage, backhanding the thing to the ground with a powerful blow was a much easier task. The thing shrieked in pain as it struck the ground with a 'thump,' still using the faux Kris voice all the while. The sound jarred Elsa, shaking her to her core. She never wanted to hear that sound again, but the situation did not seem to be leaning in her favor on that note.

She stood over it, breathing heavily and hoping it might get to its' feet and flee, but the thing never did. In fact, it didn't seem to realize that she had changed at all, or that now that it was in the open Elsa could clearly see that it was not who it was pretending to be.

"Elsa, what are you doing?" It cried with Kris' voice. "It's me!"

As it rose to its' paws Elsa got a good, long look at it and knew it at once. A Crocotta. Powerful jaw packed full of jagged teeth, lush mane bristling down its' back, with front limbs longer than the rear – in most respects it presented itself as a hyena, albeit more drably colored. Yet, rather than a pack, or even a pair, there was only this one.

The head of it raised and Elsa's heart sank as the realization dawned on her. The eyes held the cloudiness of impending blindness, it was no doubt old, hungry, and desperate. As with any other creature reaching the end of its' life, it simply wanted to meet the most basic of needs. Though it had been ready to kill her mere seconds ago, Elsa hesitated to continue her attack. It didn't.

The mouth opened in a wide, drooling smile as it lunged at her again. Elsa dodged, only just able to get herself out of way of a particularly nasty line of teeth snapping shut where her shoulder had been a second ago. This time, though, the assault didn't stop for the thing to get bearings. It came at her again and again, even with her heightened speed the damage she had taken from her fall slowed her significantly. She backed away on her hind paws as quickly as she could, muscular arms tense and ready to strike when an opening presented itself.

"She needs our help, Elsa, she'll die!" Kris' voice whimpered.

Elsa wanted to recoil as she saw the throat of the thing moving and shifting as it forced a voice that wasn't its' own out, but a chance like this wouldn't present itself like this again. It had to be done. In a flash of claws and fur Elsa swung at the thing again, landing a solid punch straight to the jaw. There was a loud 'clack,' the sound of teeth gnashing shut as Elsa followed through, forcing the thing to the ground. Both of them growled and snarled as she shoved its' face into the earth and it struggled against her, still seeming not to realize that Elsa wasn't human.

The thing lashed about below Elsa, clawing and trying to free itself from her grip. Elsa's muzzle tightened as she grimaced in pain, raising her free paw as high as she could before slamming a fist down on the thing's tender stomach. The motion was met with an answering yelp that sounded less like Kris, but still much too much like Kris for comfort. Elsa snarled through bared fangs, knowing that in spite of the sounds she would hear that she couldn't stop if she wanted to live.

In the Crocotta's moment of distraction, both of Elsa's clawed hands pressed hard on its' throat, first eliciting a squelching sound, followed immediately by strangely distorted screams and snarls. It cried out as it thrashed beneath her, in one second with Kris' voice and in another its' own. Guilt consumed her as the thrashing slowed, then eventually stopped altogether. It wasn't doing anything wrong, after all. It was old and needed to eat. She simply couldn't die now. Not when people were counting on her to make it back to them.

With a pitiable whimper Elsa all but collapsed next to the now lifeless body of the Crocotta, her form reverting back to human before she even hit the ground. Tears streamed hot down her face, through she wasn't sure if they began before or after the thing had breathed its' last breath. She wasn't even sure if she was weeping for it, for the images that the fake voice had invoked in her mind, or for the intense pain that raged through her like fire.

"Well, well." Came a sharp voice from the shadows.

"Seriously?" Elsa breathed, hardly able to believe her poor luck.

From her position on the ground Elsa tried desperately to get up and prepare to protect herself all over again, but all she could manage to do was swivel her head a little and locate a pair of vibrant green eyes seemingly floating among the trees.

"Who are you?" Elsa strained over each word, "What do you want with me?"

"What do _I_ want with _you_?" The voice laughed, though it hardly sounded amused. Each word seemed punctuated by disdain, "You've invaded my home, _girl._ You murdered this poor thing for spite. The true question is what do _you_ want with _me?_ "

Try as she might, Elsa couldn't suppress the groans and gasps of pain as she managed to force herself to sit up, or the near whimpers that escaped her as she finally managed to get to her feet. It wasn't the bravest of faces to put on with a potential threat so close, but what else was she to do?

"Spite? I just couldn't be dinner today, that's all." Elsa panted, bracing herself against a nearby tree and trying to look as intimidating as she could in her current state. "I warn you, I've had a very long day but I won't just lay down and die."

"Poor thing was the last of its' kind, you know. What a shame." The eyes narrowed from the shadows, and their owner seemed to be taking a moment to consider. "And yet, a blessing. It might have starved otherwise."

"I'm not in the mood for games." Elsa hissed through grit teeth, bitterly adding. "Only a hunter would care to know if it was the last, so if you're looking for a werewolf head to mount on your wall you're in for a fight."

That seemed to anger the being in the shadows for it stepped forward and Elsa's body tensed in fear as the figure approached. The nearer it got to her, the more feminine the physique became. Still, it was certainly no human.

The woman stood tall, and the gently twisted horns atop her head made her seem taller still. At first Elsa wasn't sure if they were real or not, but as her eyes took in more of the woman she changed her mind. Massive feathered wings rose from the woman's shoulders and ruffled almost inquisitively as she stepped forward to inspect Elsa. It was all Elsa could do to appear unfazed.

"If I wanted you dead, you would be dead." There was a hint of cruel amusement to the woman's tone, and the slightest upturn of her lips as she calmly met Elsa's gaze.

Elsa made to open her mouth, but the sight of some sort of green vapor mysteriously arising from the woman's fingertips shut it quickly enough. Fear gripped her as she tried to reason through a way to escape, to get back to Anna and Kris and away from the wisps of green, but the woman was too close and Elsa was far too injured.

Resigned to face her death with dignity, Elsa stared the woman down and inhaled. She waited for the toxins to take root in her body, but instead found that the pain along her skin had begun to ease. The relief hadn't penetrated quite as deep as her muscles, but she was grateful nonetheless.

"I...thanks?" Elsa sputtered the words, not bothering to mask her obvious confusion at the strange turn of events.

"We are not many, are we?" The woman asked with a sigh, dismissing the vapors with a wave of her hand. "We must look out for one another."

"Are you" Elsa began, realizing the absurdity of her question before it even came out of her mouth. " _What_ are you?"

"No different than you, at least not in the eyes of men."

With a flick of her wrist fresh, green vines shot from the earth, curving around one another before moving toward Elsa and breaking off, leaving what looked like a walking stick for her to grab onto. Elsa gratefully leaned her weight on it, her body still weak from the fall, and the fight, in spite of the pain no longer nagging at her.

Elsa knew that she had to choose her words carefully, something as clearly powerful as this woman, as unknown as this woman, might well be quick to anger and even quicker to kill without remorse.

"Men?" Elsa asked, hobbling a little closer to the woman. "The people living here in the forest you mean?"

"What do you know of them?" The woman huffed, the sound quick and sharp. "They desecrate my home, turning my subjects into mindless things, they..."

Elsa might have been more excited if not for the achy pulses still radiating through her body. That had been confirmation that, yes, they would indeed find Anna's suspected cult in the woods, yet Elsa couldn't even muster a smile. _Will I even be able to find Anna to tell her?_

"They're why I'm here." Elsa explained slowly, carefully. "I, and my team, were sent here to find them and remove them."

"My. Unless my eyes deceived me there were only three of you." The woman laughed, the sound high and haughty. "Were you planning to take them all out with this?"

Another set of vines crept in, supporting atop their slithering mass Elsa's miraculously unbroken bow, as well as her quiver. When it had fallen off of her Elsa couldn't say, she had been so focused on not dying that she hadn't even noticed. Now that she knew they were in tact though, the fear that the vines may crush them at the woman's command gripped her tight.

"Please-" Elsa choked the word out, hobbling toward it, "That's special."

"I sense no magic from it." The woman remarked as the vines twisted the bow this way and that so she could gaze on it, looking thoroughly unimpressed by what she saw.

"It was a gift."

"A gift?" She laughed incredulously, almost glaring at Elsa. "For a beastie like you?"

The space between them was tense as Elsa waited with bated breath to see if her bow would be returned. The woman regarded the bow a moment longer before bidding the vines to present it, and her quiver, to Elsa again. Elsa took them both, slipping them on in spite of the clear resistance from her shaking limbs.

"Thank you, thank you." Elsa muttered the words under her breath over and over, forgetting herself momentarily as she relished the feel of having them back.

"What shall I call you?" The woman asked, as calmly and coolly as if they had simply run into one another at a supermarket.

"Elsa." Something told her the woman wouldn't want or need her last name so she didn't provide it.

"Well then, Elsa," The woman paused, her face reacting as if what she was about to say pained her. "You may rest here until you are well enough to go above and take care of my little human problem."

"I won't be more than a night." Elsa assured her.

"Not one to overextend your welcome. I like that in a guest. Come along then."

The woman seemed to float, but Elsa tottered after her as quickly as she could manage. Even with the help of the stick it was an arduous task to carry herself along.

"You know, I just realized that you didn't mention your name."

The woman chuckled under her breath. "You won't need it."

"Okay...well, then what can you tell me about them?" Elsa panted, "The humans, I mean. You mentioned something about turning your...your subjects?"

Even as the word rolled off her tongue it felt strange. Had the woman meant subjects as in she herself was royalty of some sort, or that she was some sort of strange scientist who had sequestered herself to the woods?

"They make a mockery of worshiping the forest around them. Spreading blood where they will, killing innocents in some kind of twisted rite. It's driving the weak-willed who reside here to unspeakable things." The woman's tone was full of anger as she spoke, it was the most pure emotion Elsa had seen from her since they met. "Would that I could take them all on alone, but if I am injured who will keep their blight at bay?"

"So they're the reason for that weird-"

"They are at fault for much that is lost in this forest." The woman snapped bitterly, "Now hold your tongue, I tire of these incessant questions. What more could you need to know but that they are humans, and that you are not?"

Elsa couldn't even muster the energy to snap back, and instead continued to follow quietly after the winged woman with as much vigor as she could manage. As much as she wanted to argue, to point out that not all humans were despicable, that if not for a human who cared about finding and dispelling this cult they wouldn't even be here, Elsa deemed it safer to let herself be led to a place of rest. Making her stand for humans would have to wait until she could defend it, if necessary.

The walk was grueling, made all the worse by the seemingly effortless movements of the woman ahead of her, but after what felt like an eternity it came to an end. With less grace than she would have liked Elsa slung her bow and quiver off, tossing them to the ground before she collapsed onto a mossy stone that the woman gestured to. It was softer than she expected, but after tumbling all the way down a massive chasm and fighting for her life within the span of minutes Elsa suspected that just about anything might feel soft.

"Sleep." Came the sharp order of the woman's voice from just out of Elsa's sight line.

Elsa had barely wriggled herself down onto her back when the order was barked at her, but in spite of that fact her eyelids quite suddenly became heavy. She wondered how she could possibly sleep with the deep ache of pain in her bones, but something beyond her control kept her eyes shut the moment she closed them, pushing her into a dark, dreamless sleep.

Elsa woke the next morning with a groan, her head swimming. She began to roll, then nearly fell off the stone beneath her before jerking herself back and upright. All over her body she could feel her suit pinching where blood had pooled and dried as she slept, drawing a small hiss from her lips. Her muscles still ached, but the wounds had seemingly healed.

"Impressive. I doubted you would survive the night."

The voice prompted Elsa's instincts and she rapidly took up a fighting stance, only to sheepishly drop it the moment she laid eyes on the woman again. The woman looked momentarily amused before gesturing to a wooden bowl filled to the brim with plump, reddish berries.

Elsa tried not to appear as wary as she felt, but that was a difficult task given how vulnerable she felt at this woman's mercy. She lifted the bowl to her nose, pleasantly surprised to find that the berries carried a sweet scent. Placing a single berry in her mouth, she found that they tasted just as sweet as they smelled. Even that single berry seemed to alleviate her thirst and all but banished the taste of stale blood from her mouth.

"Tell me, how is it that you live?" The woman pressed, "Your injuries were severe, yet you woke this morning as if you had never been injured at all."

"Pretty personal question coming from someone who won't even tell me their name." Elsa sassed through the handful of berries she had unceremoniously shoved into her mouth.

The woman hummed a small sound in response, but Elsa never bothered to look at her and evaluate her expression. All she could focus on was getting as many of these berries in her body as she could, she had a long walk ahead of her if she was to get out of here and back to her team before they called in backup from S.N.O. The last thing she needed on top of this whole experience was to have to deal with more paperwork, or Hans.

"Maleficent." The woman said in the quietest of voices.

Elsa glanced up for only a second before eating the last of the berries, "Huh?"

"My name." Maleficent said, "Now, how is it that you defied death?"

Maleficent. A winged, horned woman with some kind of power over plants, or illusions, or perhaps something else entirely. Elsa tried to commit as much of this experience to memory as she could, wondering if Kris would even believe her when she told him. _If I get to tell him_.

"Never met a werewolf before?" Elsa asked the question casually, but it was clear from the blank, expectant expression on Maleficent's face that she hadn't. "People like me have what I guess you could call an accelerated healing factor, or something like that."

"Magic, then?" Maleficent asked, the horns on her head exaggerating the slight tilt of her head as she stared Elsa down. "You do not appear to have any, yet you must to have survived."

"I...I guess you could call it that." Elsa hesitated, swallowing nervously under Maleficent's penetrating gaze. That sickly green seemed to be attempting to probe into her very soul.

"And when will you be eradicating the humans who trouble my home?" Maleficent asked pointedly.

 _Straight to business._ Elsa thought to herself, setting the now empty bowl down where she had found it. "Once I meet back up with the rest of my team we can-"

"The humans _you_ brought along you mean?"

"Technically they brought me." Elsa admitted freely, "I guess I should say that _she_ brought the two of us, myself and the other-"

"Kris." Maleficent said matter of factly. "That's what the Crocotta drew out of you, wasn't it? And there was a woman's voice too, but you guarded her name from it, didn't you?"

"I-" Elsa hesitated, suddenly feeling unsettled. If Maleficent had heard that, then she had been in the area much longer than Elsa had realized when that thing attacked her. She had been there and not intervened. "Not intentionally."

Elsa's eyes narrowed as she put two and two together. The Crocotta had only had Kris' name because she herself had foolishly given it. It knew Anna's voice, could draw it from her mind, her memories, but could not pull her name without it being given. What a fool she had been.

"Poor thing never stood a chance once it's sight began to go." Maleficent said, her voice just verging on sad. "But back to business. Yourself, a Kris, and...?"

"Anna. We're a team sent by-"

"A team." Maleficent scoffed, "From my vantage you appear to be their weapon of war."

"Weapon of" Elsa laughed nervously, shaking her head. "That's a little over the top, don't you think?"

"Two humans, barely armed, and a beastie like you are sent into an inhospitable forest to seek out and remove a group of humans, the size of which you _clearly_ do not know..." Maleficent paused, peering casually at her nails before looking back to Elsa, "Yes, it seems like you would be of very little use in that situation."

Elsa involuntarily stiffened at the suggestion and, though she knew the words were untrue, some part of her couldn't fight the small seed of anger that Maleficent had planted within her.

 _We didn't know what was out here. Not for sure._ Elsa reminded herself, trying to regain her composure. _Now that we know it's something bigger than us we can call in reinforcements if we need to, it's not all on my shoulders._

"Humans are all the same, Elsa. Even Kris, and _especially_ Anna." Maleficent said, the slightest hint of melancholy in her voice as she stepped toward Elsa. "Sweet words and promises, all true until their use for you fades and they leave you for their own kind."

It was obvious to Elsa that there was something more there beneath the words, but she wasn't about to pry into the life of a mysterious, probably magical, and still as of yet unidentified being.

"It's a job." Elsa explained, crossing her arms over her chest defensively. "Anna located the signs of these people living out here and she's the reason our team was sent. I just happen to be a werewolf, and they just happen to be human."

"And yet your team left you to die on that ledge."

Anger ignited in her belly immediately, and before Elsa could stop herself she was stepping toward Maleficent with her fists balled tightly at her sides.

"I told them to stay back. I couldn't let them get hurt!" Elsa snapped, finally losing her cool. "They would never abandon me, they-"

"Never is a _long_ time, Elsa." Maleficent said the words more gently than Elsa had expected, then shook her head as vines drew up from the ground to produce a staff for her. "You are either foolish, naive, or in love."

"Wha-" Elsa raised her hands to her head briefly in frustration before dropping them to her side again, "Now you listen here, I don't know what you think you're talking about or who you think you are but-"

Maleficent's hand raised in a 'stop' motion as she shook her head again at Elsa, this time more wearily than before. "I find that of the three, being in love is the worst of them. Go, I have marked the path to your companions for you, and left you some assistance to find the intruders."

The interruption and the subsequent admission were more than enough to silence a very confused Elsa. For a long while she just stared at Maleficent, unsure of how to respond. The woman wasn't exactly hot and cold, it was more like she was indifferent, then cryptically helpful. As if she wished to help, but wasn't sure how to interact with another person appropriately.

Elsa was unable to mask the questioning tone of her voice when she finally responded. "Thank you?"

Maleficent made no move to stop her as Elsa walked back to what had been her bed and slipped her bow and quiver on, nor did she say anything when Elsa paused to stare at her again. It didn't feel right to interrogate someone she barely knew, to pry into just what her message had meant, but Elsa could practically feel that unknown pain Maleficent carried as she waved a goodbye and started to head into the trees.

"Elsa?"

Elsa turned back toward Maleficent, for a moment unsure if she had really heard her name being called or if she had imagined it. She opened her mouth to respond, but Maleficent was quick to speak again.

"There is a woman among the humans, unmistakably golden hair and eyes blue as a river." Maleficent hesitated and Elsa saw her grip on the staff tighten, she said the last words very quickly. "You remind me very much of her. If it is possible to ensure that no harm befalls her I would find myself in your debt."

The description was vague, just as cryptic as the rest of the assistance that Maleficent seemed to offer. Still, the corner of Elsa's mouth pulled upward in a small smile as she nodded at Maleficent once. A silent promise between the two. Then, with a deep inhale Elsa turned on her heels and headed toward her team.

It would be a long walk, no doubt, and with no supplies it would have to be made in one go, but somehow Elsa felt more confident now than she had when she had first fallen. The forest didn't seem nearly as sinister with Maleficent's promise of help, and with the promise of reuniting with Kris and Anna also looming on the horizon Elsa almost felt happy.

 _ **a/n: It feels so strange to be this deep into a fic and still have followers/favorites trickling in, but each new one gives me more inspiration to continue. Thank you to everyone, especially those that have been here since the start. I am hoping to start doing illustrations soon as well to help develop mental images for some of the lesser known creatures, as well as those that I have invented and/or tweaked.**_


	15. EraseRewind

15: Erase/Rewind

It had been hours since she and Kris had set off from camp, but their search for the slope down into the chasm had proven fruitless thus far. Though the soil in this quadrant seemed healthy and didn't threaten to crumble beneath their feet, the drop at the edge of the chasm was no less sharp or dangerous here than it had been anywhere else.

Anna's heart sunk as an unsettled feeling filled her, if there was a slope they should have found it by now. With a heavy sigh Anna paused among the trees and pulled out her map. Holding it with one hand, she rubbed her temple with the other and muttered under her breath. She couldn't figure out where it was that she had gone wrong. As many times as she followed their path on the map it just didn't make any sense.

"What's with that face?" Kris asked cheerfully, peering over Anna's shoulder at the map. "We're close right?"

Anna's tongue felt heavy and she was unsure of what to say. She could admit what she knew to be the truth, or she could keep it from him and press onward. Her stomach twisted in knots as she hesitated with her response. Lying to him could put them both in even more danger, but he would want to find Elsa no matter what, wouldn't he?

"Yeah, we're close." Anna sounded more confident than she felt as she flashed a smile at Kris and folded the map back up.

Kris took a moment to look her over, she could almost feel his eyes probing for something and the intensity of his gaze made her sweat.

"Let's get moving then." He said with a resolute nod.

Once Anna was faced away from him she swallowed her qualms about the lie she had told and carried on in the planned direction. It wasn't necessarily a lie, she reasoned with herself, she could have just been off in her calculations! Time proved the truth of it though, for as another hour came and went they ended up standing at yet another ledge, with a drop just as sharp as the one Elsa had been pulled from.

Anna stared over the edge with Kris at her side, clenching her teeth together as she tried not to scream her frustrations down into the chasm itself. Her breaths were coming heavily, but slowly, as she tried to fight back tears. She turned sharply from the ledge, only making it a few steps before Kris snagged her arm and turned her back to face him.

"What?" Anna snapped. "What could you possibly say that I haven't already thought?"

Kris' lips drew back into a thin line, but only briefly. "You don't have to be so hard on yourself, Fields. Neither of us knew what was out this way. Your plan was solid! The terrain just didn't do what we thought it was going to."

The reassurance in his voice only served to drive Anna further into the arms of her own anger. She clenched her fists and yanked her arm out of Kris' grasp.

" _My_ plan. My _mistake_." She replied bitterly, gesturing broadly at the wide drop before them. "This whole mission was a mistake, and now because of it we've lost Elsa. _I_ lost Elsa."

"West." Kris corrected, so quickly that it had to be on reflex.

"Seriously? I've probably killed her and you're still insisting on that? How can you even-"

"It's her rule." Kris added, cutting Anna's rant off before it could even really begin.

"Well it's a stupid rule." Anna huffed, "And at a time like this it feels impersonal and wrong."

With a clearly exaggerated smile, Kris waggled his eyebrows at Anna. "Are you saying you'd like to get personal with me?"

"Absolutely not, _Bjorgman_." Anna shot back, not ready to let his attempt at lightening the mood break through how angry she was at herself.

"Well that only leaves one other person you'd want to get personal with."

Anna didn't respond, save to glare hard enough at him that she was certain she saw him shrink an inch or two.

"You know Wes- _Elsa_ is incredibly capable. I've seen her do some crazy things on missions. This one time we were surrounded by some rogue vamps, fresh ones, and I swear she went super sonic! Just running around and knocking them out like-"

"Is telling me all this helping to keep you calm?" Anna asked, her voice going shrill as she shook her head, "Because I've got to say, it's not doing a thing for me."

"How can I be anything but calm right now?" Kris asked, sounding genuinely upset at her for the first time today. "Look at you, you're losing it!"

Anna's mind raced. She tried remembering how she had convinced herself that something was happening here, that the rumblings and rumors that swirled around the internet were even remotely true, but to no avail. There was no solid proof of anything here, and yet Anna had dragged not only herself, but her team out to a desolate, wooded location and now because of that choice Elsa was probably...

"Can you blame me?" Anna was nearly shouting now, tears burning at the corners of her eyes. "If it wasn't for me and this _idiotic_ mission then Elsa would be here with us-"

"Fields-"

" _No!_ It's true and you know it! I've dragged us out here in the middle of nowhere-"

"Fields, you should-"

"-to some forest to look for something that might not even _be_ here, and now Elsa's gone and it's _my_ fault! I can't let things end like this, I never even-"

"Anna."

Whatever words that should have followed withered soundlessly in her throat. Warmth spilled into Anna's chest at the sound of her name, the sound of what she thought had been Elsa's voice. A glance at Kris showed the change in his expression. He was beaming now, seemingly at someone just behind Anna.

Slowly, still unsure whether or not she was hallucinating, Anna turned. The vision before her was bloody, drenched in blood, actually, but it was Elsa all the same. _Alive_ and smiling and standing right there in arms reach. Relief flooded through her, and without another thought Anna launched herself at Elsa, wrapping her arms tightly around Elsa's neck.

"You're okay." Anna's breath hitched in her throat, then she sobbed. "I thought-"

She felt Elsa go rigid at the sudden contact, but just as quickly Elsa melted into the hug and wrapped an arm around Anna's waist. As Anna sobbed, she could feel Elsa's other hand rubbing gentle circles up and down her back, but the action only served to draw more tears.

"Hey, it's alright." Elsa soothed, though Anna could hear the hint of confusion in her voice.

"West!" Kris choked out from behind Anna.

The sound of his voice brought her back to reality, and with an awkward sound she removed herself from Elsa and allowed Kris his turn.

"I can't believe you guys touched me at all." Elsa laughed after a brief, but tight hug from Kris. "I'm disgusting."

"There's a river sort of near camp, we can get you cleaned up and checked for any lingering injuries." Kris asserted with a smile, though it was clear that he, too, was concerned by Elsa's haggard appearance.

"Trying to sneak a peek, Bjorgman?" Elsa cocked a brow, then poked out her tongue at him.

"Please, _I_ wouldn't go with you." Kris crossed his arms over his chest, "I have my virtue to consider, you know!"

There was a beat of silence, during which Anna realized Kris' meaning. She felt the heat beginning to build in her face, so to counter it she glared openly at him. "Wait, why me?"

"Well I'm not going, so who else is there?" Kris responded, his hands now on his hips.

"I'll have you both know I've been bathing myself for a good number of years now. I think I can manage." Elsa retorted, a hint of sass in her voice.

In spite of Kris' declaration that Anna would be accompanying Elsa, it had seemed like only a vague threat until she found herself standing alongside Elsa at the banks of a crystal clear river. Unbothered as ever, Elsa wasted no time in peeling both her pants and underwear off. Yet as she started to remove her shirt, she turned away from Anna and began to struggle.

"Here." Anna offered hesitantly, growing more thankful by the second that Elsa had turned away.

"You don't want to do that." Elsa laughed bitterly, jerking her shoulder away from the anticipated touch before Anna could make contact. "Blood and sweat...it's just not going to be pretty."

Anna wanted to say something to the contrary, but she didn't want to lie. It wouldn't be pretty, of that she had no doubt. She also knew that Elsa would do the same for her if the tables were reversed. Anna reached out again, more firmly this time, and slipped her fingers beneath the collar of Elsa's shirt and gently worked the fabric away from Elsa's skin.

Another time or place and this might have been a situation rife with tension, but the smell of blood was thick as Anna began working and only increased in intensity the more she moved the fabric. The blood was sticky, almost tacky in some places, but with careful movements Anna was able to free little segments and eventually let Elsa maneuver the shirt nearly off of her body. Elsa freed the clasp on her bra and let it fall to the ground, but clutched her shirt loosely against her chest.

 _Oh, now she's modest_ Anna thought bitterly to herself, wondering where that modesty had been the other night. If Elsa had exhibited even a fraction of that modesty the other night, Anna wouldn't be plagued by the memory of her.

"Thanks." Elsa exhaled quietly, flashing Anna a quick smile over her shoulder.

Blood coated Elsa's back and shoulders, the outer portions of her thighs, even her buttocks were covered in the sheen of sickly red. Anna couldn't imagine how extensive the wounds would have had to be to leave behind this much blood, or how bruised and broken Elsa must have felt when she finally got to the bottom of the chasm and found herself alone.

"Might have been better to just jump right in." Anna forced an uncomfortable laugh, trying not to pry Elsa for information. "Looks like it's...everywhere."

"It is." Elsa confirmed with a dramatic sigh.

Anna bit her lip, reflecting back on all the things she had been saying just before Elsa had arrived. All the hate she felt at herself and her own plan. All the things she had thought she wanted to say. She had been right in the middle of something that at the moment seemed important, but now she couldn't recall what that had been.

"Listen, Elsa, I..." Anna began, guilt heavy in her voice. "I should have found you sooner. I've studied the map more than any of us, and I still...I just should have found you sooner. I'm sorry."

At that, Elsa turned. There was a strange expression on her face, one Anna couldn't quite get a read on. Anna tried to step back and out of Elsa's personal space, and for her own well being, but Elsa moved with her and maintained that closeness between them. The look Elsa was giving her was intense, almost enough so that Anna wanted to look away, but the options for places to look were few and far between so Anna maintained eye contact.

"Were you really that worried about me?" Elsa asked blatantly. Though her voice was even, Anna saw the tiniest bit of movement around Elsa's eyes as she said the word 'really.'

Anna scoffed, then shook her head. How could Elsa think that they had been anything but desperate to get her back? "You...literally were dragged off a cliff by a creepy vine monster? Was there an option to _not_ be concerned?"

To Anna's surprise, Elsa's next question came faster. There was almost an urgency to it. "Would you have kept looking for me?"

"Of course." Anna had answered so quickly that she hadn't realized how silly she might look being so sure of her answer. "I had to get you back for the Valravn, right? So, now we're even. Ish."

Elsa's expression steeled and her brows knit together, as if she was thinking hard or remembering something that wasn't quite in her grasp. Anna could feel Elsa's even breaths on her bangs in the uncomfortable closeness, then all at once Elsa's expression changed. Now she gazed down on Anna with softer eyes, and her head tilted slightly to the side.

"You could check me over, you know." Elsa suggested, running a finger along Anna's jawline, drawing her chin up. "For any, what was it Kris said? _Lingering_ injuries?"

Inadvertently Anna's head moved into the touch as her mind went pleasantly fuzzy. Her mouth quite suddenly felt dry, and she exhaled a quiet breath through parted lips. _What is this?_

"Check-" Anna breathed, eyes half-lidded, "Check you...over?"

There were a few seconds where Elsa continued to smile at her, but then her hand dropped from Anna's face to her shoulder. There was a gentle pressure there, not painful but enough to ground Anna again.

"I think you should head back." Elsa said firmly, turning away from Anna and looking to the ground as she adjusted the shirt she still held to her body.

Elsa hadn't been rude, but something about the way she said it felt off. Anna opened her mouth to argue, but even before the words were out she knew that the point she was going to make was flimsy.

"Kris said someone should be with you. Just in case."

Elsa laughed and shook her head. "I'm fine, really. Besides, he's probably going to need a hand wrangling dinner since I lost some of our supplies."

Anna sputtered quiet protests, but when Elsa began to walk toward the river there wasn't much for Anna to do but leave. Once out of earshot of Elsa, Anna ran a hand down her face and groaned in frustration. How was she supposed to argue with Elsa about being safe when Elsa had just survived something that normally wasn't survivable? And just what the hell had that moment been for? How much longer did she intent to haze Anna with this teasing?

"Why are you alone?" Kris grunted as he swung his ax down on a log, sending the now two halves flying in opposite directions. "Where's our fearless leader?"

"Fearlessly bathing herself. She told me she would be fine." Anna paused, remembering the conversation. "Well, she said she _was_ fine. What do I say to that? 'Hey, you just lived after falling off a cliff but we thought you might still need a babysitter for your bath'?"

Kris cleared his throat, then in a mocking tone that was _clearly_ meant to be Anna's voice he said, "I might not be safe walking back to camp alone, can't I stay and help you get cleaned up?"

"Please." Anna scoffed at him. "You obviously didn't want to help her scrub that blood off, so why would I?"

The look he shot her was dubious, at best, but he didn't argue further save to roll his eyes at her. True to her word Elsa returned shortly after, toweling her hair with one hand and carrying her drenched morph clothing in the other. She seemed unmotivated to get to the fire with Anna and Kris in spite of the chill in the air, and though Anna had been curious about the reason at first it became clear the moment Elsa sat down.

"Okay, I'm ready." Kris said, nearly the instant Elsa sat. He gestured to one of the now unidentifiable, charred animals that had been roasting over the fire, as if to exchange it for information. "Tell me everything."

"Everything, huh?" Elsa asked, her smile somehow sad and amused all at once. "If you say so."

XXX

The story came easily to Elsa, at first anyway. She didn't tell them about the fall, about how scared she had been. They wouldn't want to hear that. No, instead she told them about making it to the bottom of the chasm, about how the earth there seemed to make that same crackling sound. A sound like something was burrowing through it, reaching out for her from beneath it. She told them about running to the tree line, and the voices she heard.

Kris' face lit up as she began to describe the creature she encountered, demanding Elsa pause her tale so that he could grab his notebook to let her draw the Crocotta for him. From there, though, there was a shaky pause. When she tried to think of the words to describe Maleficent, something stopped her.

Was it really wise to admit to seeing something that, as far as she knew, didn't seem to exist? Kris might believe her, but Anna would certainly think her mad. A gnawing, uncomfortable feeling slipped into fear, and in that moment she knew that she had to omit the experience with Maleficent in those strange woods at the bottom of the chasm. So, against her better judgment, she did.

Elsa shook her head, as if shaking away the memory of the experience the Crocotta, and smiled weakly at her eager listeners. Then, she weaved a tale for them of wandering through the forest below until she found a safe place to sleep. She told them about how she had fallen asleep the moment her head hit ground, and about waking the next morning to forage for berries before she began tracking her way back to them.

The stream of questions from Kris was surprisingly short, and Anna seemed content enough to simply listen as Elsa answered each one. It had seemed a blessing at first but in the darkness of the tent the silence felt far more overbearing than questions would have.

Elsa could tell by Anna's breathing pattern that she was wide awake, yet she lay there in the dark and said nothing. Asked nothing of Elsa. It was unnerving. But as Elsa opened her mouth to break the silence she was interrupted by the sound of Anna's voice.

"I'm glad you're alright." Anna mumbled tentatively, then she breathed a laugh. "Can you imagine the paperwork we would have had to do if you hadn't been?"

"Paperwork?" Elsa's own voice was quiet, she hardly registered Anna's joke. "I'm sure you would have been fine."

There was a rustling, the sound of Anna adjusting herself in her sleeping bag no doubt. Anna's silhouette against the natural light seeping through the tent told Elsa that Anna was sitting up now, and that she appeared to be staring at Elsa.

"You don't really believe that, do you?"

Elsa wasn't sure how to respond. Of course she thought they would be fine without her. Kris and Anna were strong, and even if Elsa didn't want to admit it just yet Anna would probably end up being a better agent than Elsa was if she kept at it.

"Of course I do." Elsa finally managed to say.

"You said that before you know. That I would have been fine." Anna paused, then wriggled herself closer to Elsa. "But you came for me, even when that Valravn made me say some pretty awful things."

Elsa clutched the corner of her pillow tightly at the memory, still not entirely sure what had stirred her to break protocol and go after Anna that day. Maybe it had been the way Kris reacted, his fury at the insults that had been slung. Or it might have been the look on Anna's face after the words left her mouth. That confusion and pain. Whatever it had been though, it was done and over with.

"It's not that big of a deal." Elsa breathed.

More rustling, more wiggling, then Anna was out of her sleeping bag and kneeling next to Elsa.

"It kind of is, though." Anna admitted, toying with the zippered edge of Elsa's sleeping bag. "You've been saving me since before we even met. And I couldn't even-"

"You did exactly what you should have." Elsa begrudgingly grabbed the zipper on her bag from the inside, sliding it open enough to sit up. By Anna's tone, it seemed like this talk might take longer than she would like.

"That's what Kris said, but I just..." Anna either lost her train of thought or had decided not to finish it, because she fell silent mid sentence.

In the dark Elsa started to reach out to Anna, but caught herself and set her hand on her lap instead. "Don't worry about it. I can handle myself. W-"

"Don't you dare say 'werewolf' like it's a pass for me not to worry." Anna growled in the darkness, the hurt clear in her voice. Guilt sealed Elsa's lips as Anna continued. "You were covered in blood when you found your way back to us, Elsa. Covered! I shouldn't have been looking at the river but..."

"But?" Elsa asked tentatively, not sure where Anna was headed with this.

Anna exhaled quickly, then with a shaky voice she spoke again. "Look, I haven't known you that long but...that time without you was, well, awful. Kris needs you. I...well, I need you. Too. Me and Kris. Both."

At a loss for words, Elsa could only stare in Anna's direction and curse the darkness for casting Anna in shadow. It was difficult to read her like this, only dim shadows and vague outlines to offer clues as to what she was really thinking. A few times Elsa began to assemble a response, but it fell apart in her mind before her mouth ever began to verbalize it.

"I never checked you, you know." Anna muttered quietly.

It took a moment for the words to register, but when they did it Elsa could feel pinpricks of heat beginning in her cheeks. Anna had mentioned Elsa's relentless teasing previously, but had never specifically referenced anything Elsa had said. Truthfully her face had probably flushed more from shame than actual embarrassment, but the burn felt the same.

"I'm sorry, Anna. I shouldn't have teased you like that, I-" Elsa paused at the sound of a zipper, and the feel of her sleeping bag being pried open. "Anna, what are you-?"

"Quiet." Anna chided, climbing into Elsa's open sleeping bag. "Just let me do this, okay?"

Instinctively Elsa backed away from Anna, trying to put some distance between them, but the size of their tent prevented her from getting too far. "Do what?"

Anna made a sound of protest as Elsa moved this way and that to avoid her, until finally Anna's hand landed on Elsa's shoulder. The touch didn't burn, but it may as well have by the sound Elsa made. It was somewhere between a whimper of pain and a yelp, but it didn't stop Anna from poking and prodding at the area.

"Stop, that hurts." Elsa whispered angrily.

"Big badass werewolf can't handle it?" Anna taunted, then her voice fell to a more serious tone. "I knew something was up when you didn't drop your shirt earlier. It is still open?"

"Just a deep bruise I think." Elsa sucked in a quick breath as Anna's fingers dug into a particularly painful spot. "Fuck!"

"Better be quiet or Kris'll think you finally seduced me."

" _I_ seduced _you_?" Elsa huffed, trying to keep still under Anna's touch. "Please. I would never."

"Could have fooled me." Anna sounded nonchalant, but Elsa could feel the agitated energy rolling off of her in waves.

"Hey, I was just apologizing for that." Elsa shot back, quickly adding. "I got carried away, that's all. It's not like it meant anything by it. I know you wouldn't want-"

Elsa wasn't sure what she had meant to say. That Anna wouldn't want a woman. That she wouldn't want a werewolf, or someone as hopelessly broken as Elsa felt. Whatever she had been ready to say was bitten back at the feeling of Anna shifting again, brazenly positioning herself on Elsa's lap. Elsa swallowed, then exhaled a quick breath.

"What, um." Elsa suddenly felt a surge of gratitude for the darkness, though she thought her face might be glowing from embarrassment now. Brimming with confusion and uncertainty, she asked shakily. "What are you doing?"

Anna was silent for a moment. She ghosted her fingertips down Elsa's arms and back up Elsa's sides until she reached Elsa's ribs, then she leaned forward. Elsa's breath caught in her throat, she wasn't sure what was to come but she couldn't will herself to move in spite of her brain screaming that she should.

"What's the matter?" Anna breathed against Elsa's neck. Then, in a more triumphant tone she added. "Don't like it when the tables are turned?"

Elsa was a mess of heat and confusion, but as Anna's words sunk in all that seemed to drain away in an instant. Guilt filled her chest as she sat there, trying to ignore the feeling of a body on her lap, the heated breaths dancing on her neck. She wasn't sure why, but something about this felt entirely wrong.

"Quit fooling around." Elsa kept her tone as even as she could, trying not to betray the array of emotions she was feeling. "We're finding that cult tomorrow, we need to be rested and ready."

Anna seemed to feel the shift in Elsa's emotion and removed herself clumsily from Elsa's lap. "Hey, if I crossed a line I-"

"You were just paying me back." As soon as Anna was removed from her lap, Elsa shifted to put a little space between them. Flatly she added, "Lesson learned. I'll dial back the teasing."

It seemed like Anna might have wanted to say something to her, but in the darkness it was difficult to tell. Anna never said anything more though, save a quiet 'night' as she slipped back into her sleeping bag. Elsa struggled to process whatever it was that she was feeling, finally falling asleep what felt like hours later.

In spite of protests, mostly from Kris, it didn't take long to get her team geared up and back on track to explore for the cult. Surprisingly, Anna made no mention of their interaction the night before, and Kris seemed to have slept through their talking as well. In fact, both were behaving so normally that Elsa wondered if she had dreamed the whole thing. Why she would have dreamed it though, was beyond her.

"Don't look so glum." Kris said to Anna, "Just because we're not finding anything right here doesn't mean they aren't out here."

"I'm such an idiot." Anna whined, her voice low. As if she thought whispering quietly enough would keep Elsa from hearing her. "What if I've wasted our time here?"

It took everything Elsa had not to whip around and confirm for Anna that, yes, there was definitely a cult here. If she admitted it now, then she would have to explain how she knew. She would have to tell them about Maleficent, about the night she spent in the company of a truly otherworldly being. _I can't._

Whatever help had been promised was not as easy to find as it had been in guiding her home. The vines had made it clear which paths she should take, and helped her climb back up the ledge to her friends, but save the trees this portion of the woods almost seemed barren. In fact, as Elsa listened carefully, it almost seemed as if...

Elsa stopped in her tracks, nearly causing a collision behind her.

"Hey, West-"

"Shh." Elsa hissed, raising a hand behind her to cut Kris off.

Elsa glanced back at them, without their footfalls the silence felt eerie and oppressive. The hairs on Elsa's neck stood on end as she shared a look with her team. Something was near. Anna reached for the gun at her side, and even Kris had his hand over an ax attached to his belt. Elsa turned back around, trying to figure out where she could feel eyes on her from, but nothing seemed to be there at all.

 _This is it_.

"Show yourself." Elsa said the words calmly, not even a hint of the usual authority in her voice.

For a moment the silence was the only answer she received, but what appeared could have only been her sign. Just in front of Elsa a baseball sized orb of fluorescent blue appeared, wreathed in spectral flame. Elsa knew it at once as a wisp, something that Merida had often spoken of when on missions. Though this wisp had no hint of the sickly green of Maleficent's magic, Elsa had no doubt that only Maleficent could have pulled on such a memory and utilized it to serve as a guide for Elsa's team.

"In the middle of the day?" Kris asked, almost incredulous as he sheathed his weapon and whipped out his notebook instead. "How odd."

"Wisps." Elsa couldn't take her eyes off of the glowing ball of light in her palm.

"Wisp?" Anna asked, Elsa could see as Anna approached that she was eyeing it nervously. "Like a will-o-wisp?"

Elsa murmured with a nod. "That's one name, they have many."

"But, then" Anna stammered, stepping forward and gently touching Elsa's extended arm. "you shouldn't be touching it. We shouldn't pay it any attention, or we might wind up lost, or dead!"

Elsa prickled instantly at the touch, her expression hardening as she snapped back at Anna. "I have it on good authority that they lead you to your fate."

"Oh, they definitely do." Anna was full of snark, rolling her eyes at Elsa. "If your fate is to starve to death in the middle of the Black Forest then you should be absolutely fine."

Elsa opened her mouth, an insult loaded and ready to hurl back at Anna, but as the ball of light fizzled out in her hand so, too, did the argument. She was normally more careful about keeping her emotions under control but she couldn't help but frown as she flexed her fingers where the wisp had been. As she readied to tell team to keep moving, though, another wisp appeared in the distance. It seemed to bob almost happily in the air, waiting for them to go after it.

"We're following it." Elsa declared resolutely, taking a step forward.

"Wait, this isn't safe!" Anna urged, tugging on Elsa's arm. "What if we get lost?"

"She won't lead us astray." Elsa responded so quickly that by the time she realized she had made a mistake there wasn't much she could do to correct it. Instead, she simply tugged her arm out of Anna's grip and began walking. "Let's go, you two."

"Why are we indulging her?" Anna whispered almost frantically to Kris, clearly still under the impression that Elsa couldn't hear her. "She's already almost died once, we could end up-"

"We won't." Kris' voice was soft, almost wistful, but certain. "Besides, if she dies this time it's her own fault, right?"

Elsa couldn't spare the energy to banter with Kris, so she let his comment go. Walking along behind the wisp was easy, but finding it after it disappeared and reappeared elsewhere wasn't. Sometimes it would appear farther off, other times in a tree branch pointing the way onward, but Elsa could be nothing but thankful that it did keep appearing.

The wisp had disappeared and reappeared thirty or forty times now, Elsa had lost count after fifteen, but even with Anna's incessant whispering behind her about landmarks Elsa's mood couldn't be dampened. The path was becoming easier to traverse with each step, after all.

Eventually it became clear that the area they were in was well traveled. Some of the wilder roots had been cleared away, forming gnarled little fists where they had healed upon themselves, and there were no stray twigs or stones to watch for. Elsa glanced over her shoulder at Kris, who was smiling cheekily at a less than pleased looking Anna. Elsa slowed her pace, then planted her palm flat on a nearby tree before whispering a small thanks to Maleficent.

"Don't worry, Fields. I'll let you grovel at my feet later to make up for doubting me." Elsa smirked, but then remembered her commitment to trying not to tease Anna. She reached out and gently shoved Anna's shoulder, to emphasize that she had only been joking. "Whoever is in this forest is a little further down this path."

If Anna had been bothered by the light jab, she hadn't shown it. Her expression was more resolute than Elsa had seen it thus far. "Then we should proceed with caution. We don't know what they want, or if they're even really a cult."

"Astute observation." Kris said casually, a hint of teasing in his tone. "And if they _are_ a cult?"

"We gather information and report back to S.N.O." Anna stated firmly.

"And if they're not?" Elsa asked, carefully masking her concern.

Anna faltered at Elsa's question, but eventually shrugged and replied. "I guess we report back either way. That's protocol, right?"

Elsa's jaw tensed at the answer, and by the look on Kris' face he hadn't been pleased with Anna's reply either. They had never reported more to S.N.O. than absolutely necessary about peaceful people just trying to live their lives, but there was no tactful way to insist that Anna do the same. Anna seemed to sense the unrest, and rather than stick around for whatever was to come she took off down the path without them.

"Fields." Elsa whispered urgently, jogging lightly to close the distance between them. "Stay with us, slow down."

Anna didn't slow down, though. In fact Elsa's insistence that she slow down only seemed to spur her on. Kris called out from behind them, but Elsa rushed forward to grab Anna's wrist.

"Fields." Elsa was firm as she held on to Anna, her brows knit in concern. "You plan on rushing them all alone? You don't even know how many there are."

"I..." Anna hesitated, her eyes darting to one side. It was clear to Elsa that Anna hadn't really considered a plan, but to her credit she answered anyway. "...was going to scout the area."

"You're a terrible liar." Elsa breathed, letting go of Anna's wrist. "You go, we go. You know that."

Anna's face contorted, almost angrily, as she tried to pull her arm free of Elsa's grasp, but as Anna stepped back, the whole world shifted. Instinctively Elsa closed her eyes as the sickeningly familiar weightlessness washed over her again, sending a jolt of fear through her. She and Anna painfully collided, then the world lurched downward once more and everything began to sway.

 _ **a/n: As always, I hope you're still enjoying the story! Things will be a little wild next chapter, so prepare yourself now! Happy holidays to you and yours, see you again soon!**_


	16. Anywhere

Chapter Sixteen: Anywhere

"Oh fuck me." Elsa groaned miserably.

Anna mirrored Elsa sentiment, grumbling "What the hell happened?"

As Anna pried her eyes open the world seemed to swim back into focus, revealing that the pressure she felt all around her was due to the way in which she and Elsa had become entangled. Elsa seemed unbothered by the proximity, even as the old ropes that surrounded them caused their world to sway in a sickeningly pendulous motion.

"You guys okay?" Kris called from below.

He had tried, and failed, to hide the snort of laughter that escaped him along with his question. Anna glanced to Elsa, who looked all the more irate now that Kris seemed to be finding so much amusement in their predicament.

"Fine." Anna huffed

She wriggled this way and that, making tiny movements in an attempt to disengage her body from Elsa's. Try as she might every little motion only seemed to press them closer together, and judging by the unhappy scowl on Elsa's face she was less than thrilled about Anna's attempts.

"Quit fidgeting." Elsa hissed at her. "Didn't you bring a knife? Give it to me, I'll cut us free."

"Right." Anna said the word quickly, cursing herself for not thinking about it sooner.

"It's down here, West." Kris called from the ground, and a glance downward confirmed that he held the small weapon in his hand.

"Damn it." Elsa's face contorted in frustration as she adjusted herself. Her movements set the rope trap to swaying all over again, something for which Anna was far from grateful. "You know, they teach school children not to wander too far away from a group. I guess that's not something you picked up on?"

Anna rolled her eyes, grumbling loudly before calling down to Kris. "You've got the knife, so can't you just cut us free?"

"Oh sure I can," Kris sounded almost cheerful in his response, "so long as you're fine with plummeting to the ground and breaking an arm. And maybe a leg too. Oh, or your spine!"

"Ignore him." Elsa's words were a low rumble as she leveled her gaze with Anna's, an edge of seriousness to the quiet sound of her voice. "Just focus on me."

Anna could feel the heat beginning at the back of her neck, threatening to creep up and up the closer Elsa inched. Elsa was steadying herself using Anna as a balance, that much was clear, but as she crouched before Anna the ropes around them began to creak ominously. The sound only intensified as Elsa reached above Anna's head to do something to the ropes there.

"What are you doing?" Anna had tried not to let the words escape her in a whine, but they sounded pitiful to her own ears all the same.

"I'm getting us out of here." Elsa was clearly concentrating hard, the frustration in her voice had almost drained away while she worked. "Just trust me, alright?"

"Sure, sure." Anna muttered quietly, trying to stare anywhere but at Elsa's chest. A task made all the more difficult by the fact that it was hovering mere inches from her face. "This would be a lot easier if I hadn't seen you naked."

The sound of a quick, quiet laugh being exhaled from above her sent a chill of terror into Anna's stomach. _I thought that, right? Please tell me I thought it._ Anna raised her gaze to find Elsa staring down at her, a brow raised, silently confirming that Anna had most certainly said the last portion of her 'thought' aloud.

"Oh my god. N-not that you aren't, I just mean-"

"It's nothing you haven't seen before, right? Nothing special." Elsa adjusted herself a little, as if trying fruitlessly to put more space between them. "You're going to want to hold onto me, arms _and_ legs."

"W-what?" Anna stammered, certain that her face was entirely flushed.

"Get it together, Fields." Elsa was clearly biting back laughter now to spare Anna's feelings, but Kris could be heard guffawing loudly from the ground. "This is no time for a gay panic."

"No panic here." Anna breathed, most certainly panicking as she did what she was told.

"I've found some weak spots in the ropes, I'm going to use those as starting points to chew through sections. Sort of perforating it. Once I get entirely through the first section the weight should cause the sections to snap in sequence and theoretically drop us closer to the ground." Elsa paused, almost as if she was done speaking, but then she added in a whisper rife with uncertainty "Just...don't look at me, okay?"

"Okay..."

There was doubt behind Anna's agreement, but all of that drained away when she felt the muscles in Elsa's chest shift and change beneath her ear. Anna tried to ready an argument for why they shouldn't go through with the plan, why they should think of anything else but something that could still potentially send them falling to their doom, but before she could compose a solid point the first audible snap of rope sent all thoughts flying out of her head.

Anna clung to Elsa for dear life as they jolted forward again and again before coming to a swinging stop with the last set of snaps. Anna had shut her eyes at some point, but the feeling of Elsa shifting back was unmistakable with her ear pressed this tightly to Elsa's chest. If Elsa could focus enough to shift back, then that had to mean that they were done dropping, right?

Elsa dropped her hand down one more rung on one side, then the other in quick succession, drawing a sharp, frantic breath from Anna.

"We'll be fine, just hang on to me." Elsa had made an attempt to sound soothing, at least it sounded that way to Anna, but her voice was shaking from the exertion of holding both of them up.

Worry roiled in Anna's stomach as Elsa worked them down the rope in small increments. If Elsa's bruising hadn't healed up entirely last night then it was possible that this was putting her in serious pain,possibly even making the injury worse, yet she hadn't uttered a single word of complaint all the while. Was this the mark of a leader, or was there something more behind her silence?

Elsa's brave face could not last forever though, and by the time they had reached the literal end of their rope Elsa's attempt at maintaining a strong facade had dropped. Her breath had developed a distinct, ragged edge and the sound made Anna's chest ache with guilt.

"I should have stayed with you." Anna laughed quietly, more to herself than to Elsa.

"Hands off the merchandise when you shimmy down, yeah?" Elsa grunted, shaking both of them slightly as she adjusted her grip.

Anna glared up at Elsa, ready to remind her that she had said she would lay off the teasing, only to see that Elsa's arms were twitching and shaking as she held them in place. The effort she was exerting had to be tremendous, and in light of that Anna chose to follow the order instead of arguing. She crept down Elsa's body with care, but on reaching Elsa's boots her heart sunk as she realized she still couldn't feel ground beneath her feet.

"I got you, Fields! You're almost there!" Kris cheered from below them. "Come on, let go! I got you!"

"You better!" Anna whimpered, letting go of Elsa and free falling the remainder of the way.

True to his word, Kris caught Anna with a celebratory 'whoop!' and carried her out from beneath the trap. As soon as he set Anna down he shouted back up to Elsa. "We're clear!"

Elsa didn't wait a second longer before letting go of the ropes, dropping to the ground and landing with a flourish. She stood up as if the whole ordeal hadn't phased her in the slightest, brushing a few leaves from her pants and straightening her braid back over her shoulder.

"Show off." Kris crossed his arms over his chest, animatedly rolling his eyes at Elsa. "First you cheat death, now this?"

Elsa raised an arm and flexed, then poked her tongue out at Kris. She didn't retort, which seemed odd, but Anna didn't have time to question it before Kris began theorizing about the minds behind the trap.

"So, clearly these people are pretty self sufficient. Traps probably mean they're catching their own food, and if we are where I think we are there should be a water source not too far from here." Kris rubbed his chin thoughtfully, "Might be a native group?"

"Could be." Elsa replied, a hint of doubt in her voice. "But anyone can research how to be self sufficient in the woods, especially if they're particularly motivated to keep themselves hidden."

"True enough."

"I still think we should scout things out." Anna chimed in. "See what's going on and-"

Elsa's hand flew up, a signal for Anna to stop speaking. At first a flicker of indignation began in Anna, but then she heard it. Footsteps. The steady sound of crunching leaves filled the area ominously, but it was impossible to pinpoint where the sound was originating from, whoever it was seemed to be approaching from all directions at once.

When a fog began to roll in ahead of the footfalls, Anna reached instinctively for the spot on her belt where her knife should have been. She cursed as she remembered that Kris had it, but on turning to retrieve it she witnessed something that shouldn't have been possible. The mist had formed tendrils, which rose rapidly and wrapped themselves up Elsa's legs. They pulled her to her knees, all the while Elsa clawed at her chest as if she were in pain.

Knife all but forgotten Anna managed to take a few steps toward Elsa before the points of two spears were shoved into her face. Cloaked figures, faces cast in shadow from their hoods, stood in Anna's path, menacing her away from Elsa.

"We're not a threat." Anna tried to sound as calm as she could, given the situation. With hands raised, she attempted to reason with the armed strangers. "She's obviously hurt, can't you let me-"

A gaunt woman stepped forward between two of the spear wielding men, pushing her cloak back as she smiled at Anna. "We are blessed. The forest smiles upon us this day!"

Anna glanced at Kris, who now seemed unsteady on his feet, but he looked just as confused as Anna felt. "O...okay? Look can I just help her? Please?"

The woman continued to smile at Anna, then shook her head before rounding on Elsa's crumpled form. She inspected Elsa the way someone at a supermarket might take a good look at a package of meat, or a bag of fruit, before taking it home with them. With a snap of her fingers the woman summoned two men to her side, and without a word they picked Elsa's limp body up and dragged her further down the path. Anna made to follow, but was stopped by more goons wielding weapons.

"Where are you taking her?" Anna asked, growing uneasy as she rocked on the spot and tried to find a path through the spears to get to Elsa. "She's not a threat, we're not threats!"

"You needn't be concerned with her." The woman gave a dismissive wave of her hand, "She will serve her purpose, as we all must."

Anna made to protest again, but the woman's hand came up under her chin and turned her head forcefully. She seemed to be appraising Anna just as she had done with Elsa.

"What are you doing?" Anna snapped, jerking her head from the woman's grip.

"The fire in you is alluring." The woman's lips curled up even more, giving her smile an unsettling edge. Anna took a step back at that, only to run into one of the goons this woman had brought with her. "You will do nicely at my side. Once I tame you, that is. Boys?"

Before Anna could even open her mouth to argue both her arms had been forcefully seized and she was being led against her will down the forest path, shouting her displeasure all the way.

XXX

With a short, startled inhale Elsa awoke. The breath burned all the way to the depths of her lungs, as if it didn't belong there. She pried her eyes open to a blur of color, then attempted to wipe her eyes to no avail. The feel of rope around her wrists registered in her brain as she blinked furiously in an attempt to clear her vision.

"Shh." A woman soothed, running a thumb over Elsa's brow. "Don't try to talk just yet."

The woman who knelt at her side was young, younger than Anna perhaps, with golden tendrils cascading down past her shoulders. Unlike Elsa's harsh platinum color, this woman's hair was filled with warmth. The color of sunlight and spring.

Through the haze of confusion a single, invasive thought pushed to the forefront of her mind. Had that woman's eyes been blue? It was suddenly very, very important to her that they be blue.

"My companions?" Elsa croaked, hissing in pain as the act of speaking renewed the burning in her lungs.

The question prompted the woman to finally look at her, mild irritation written all over her face. More importantly than her expression though, were her eyes. Eyes that were blue as the sky.

 _No, blue as a river._ Like a light bulb turning on in a dark room the memory of Maleficent's request surfaced through the haze.

"You are very brave." The woman turned from Elsa to pick up a bowl filled with a strange liquid, showing it to Elsa before raising it to Elsa's lips. "Asking after your friends when in such a precarious position yourself."

The liquid was opaque and entirely without scent or flavor, but as it slid down Elsa's throat it soothed the burning there in an instant.

"That's it." The woman chuckled as Elsa now greedily swallowed every last drop. "Good, good."

"My friends?" Elsa asked, hardly waiting a second after the bowl had been removed from her lips to do so. "Are they safe?"

"As far as I know, they are." The woman responded, her tone turning guarded.

Elsa visibly breathed a sigh of relief, which the woman raised a brow at but didn't say anything more. Elsa couldn't decide if her own mind was acting conspiratorially, or if the mannerisms of this woman mirrored Maleficent's.

"My name is Elsa." Elsa had expected the woman to at least show a little interest, but instead her face simply went blank. The expression, or lack thereof, made Elsa squirm uneasily. "And you are?"

"I suppose it couldn't hurt for you to know." The woman didn't look at Elsa as she spoke, "My mother called me Aurora. But here, _she_ calls me Rose. Briar Rose."

"She?" Elsa asked, "Who is 'she' exactly?"

"Queen Ingris. Or at least, she will be queen. Her powers were stripped from her by...by..." Aurora stopped speaking.

Elsa studied Aurora's face carefully, it was clear that she was thinking of something that was painful for her. That telltale crease of her brows, the set line of tension in her less than sturdy jaw. Aurora never finished her sentence, leaving Elsa to attempt to piece things together.

Maleficent had sent her here to find the cult, but had mentioned the young woman she wanted to be kept safe. She had to have suspected the woman was with the cult, or else why bother with the request? Then there was Aurora, who spoke of a mother in the past tense and of a queen who supposedly had her powers taken from her.

Elsa swallowed past a lump of uncertainty in her throat, then asked plainly. "And if my blood is spilled, then her powers will be restored?"

Aurora's hands clenched into fists, then loosened again. "I have no ill will toward you, but the queen decrees that it must be done."

"But I'm not the first." Elsa stated with certainty, she knew that much from Maleficent. "And you aren't sure I will be the last, are you Aurora?"

The use of her name seemed to stiffen Aurora, who froze momentarily before regaining her composure. "Creatures and less. You are the right one, the queen has decreed it."

"Let's say my life does restore her powers. What then?"

"She will rule fairly. Be of help to all." Aurora explained, head held high as she spoke. "She will not hide away in a grotto of creatures or sequester herself away from others like-"

"Like Maleficent."

"You know of her great evil." Aurora's voice had turned haughty at Maleficent's name, her entire demeanor changed. "Then you should be honored to die for such a cause."

"Of the two, I will say that Maleficent didn't attempt to sacrifice me to _maybe_ gain some kind of power. So maybe she's not the evil one here."

"You saw her then?" Aurora's expression became quite serious at that. "How did she seem?"

"How did she seem?" Elsa scoffed, "You said she was some great evil, but you want to know how she's doing?"

Aurora looked to the side briefly, then stared Elsa down. "I only wonder if the threat to our queen is still as great as it had been when I last saw her."

"Something was troubling her." Elsa said, "Perhaps she was considering what a mother could have done to turn her daughter against her?"

It had been a gamble, but at this point Elsa didn't have much to lose. The look on Aurora's face was reward enough though, for it told her just about everything she needed to know. Aurora certainly didn't look magical, but the way Maleficent had described her so tenderly, it had to be true.

Aurora's eyes narrowed at Elsa, then she got to her feet and began to pace. "More like how long could a mother hide her evil before another opened her daughter's eyes to the truth."

Elsa had wondered how a cult leader could gather followers out here in the wilds of the Black Forest, but Aurora's words set all the pieces into place for Elsa. This Ingris played on the fears of her followers, of that Elsa had no doubt. She had likely seen Maleficent in action at some point and managed to convince Aurora that Maleficent was some great evil, a thief of power and the rightful rule of the forest.

Elsa's heart ached for the pain Maleficent must have felt, knowing that her own daughter saw her as a threat. Knowing that someone she cared so much for would leave at the word of another. It was no wonder Maleficent had spoken so harshly of humans to Elsa, there was no doubt in her mind that she would have done the same in Maleficent's situation.

"Ingris is the evil one." Elsa glared up at Aurora, then her expression softened as she felt a stab of guilt. "Maleficent asked me to be sure you were safe, unharmed."

"You lie." Aurora accused, "Ingris warned us of the silver tongues of outsiders, but I never imagined-"

"What reason do I have to lie to you, Aurora?" Elsa spat, her voice rising again as guilt gave way to anger. How could Aurora not see? "Or would you prefer Briar Rose, now that Ingris has filled your head with her lies?"

"You will not raise your voice at me, you, you-"

"The world is crumbling around you." Elsa spoke over Aurora's stammering, with more conviction than she should have had given how little she knew about what was actually happening. "Are you claiming not to have seen what destruction Ingris' sacrifices have wrought on the forest?"

At the mention of the forest and destruction, Aurora fell silent. There was something in her eyes that spoke of desperation and perhaps even fear. Her pacing had stopped and now her hands were tightly clasped in front of her.

"Our queen would never harm the forest around her." Aurora spoke in a robotic tone, clearly it was something that had been drilled into her. "All we do is in homage to the-"

"There are massive areas of death." Elsa interrupted sternly, "Nothing grows and the soil has been sapped of every drop of moisture. Even the plants themselves reach out to punish any who wander into the area.

"I should know, I was pulled down into the chasm depths by something I have never laid eyes on before. How else would I have met Maleficent? How else would I have known your connection to her if she hadn't spoken to me of you?"

"Impossible." Aurora responded instantly.

"She loves you, Aurora."

Aurora's expression softened at the words, it was clear that Aurora was considering Elsa's argument in spite of herself. Whatever she may have been able to say though was cut short by the sound of a door, and a man addressing Aurora.

"Put this one with the other, north of the pyre. Queen Ingris has requested all hands for the ceremony." He said, leaving without bothering to assist her.

 _Pyre_. Elsa swallowed hard, a sick feeling sinking into her stomach like a stone. Being burned alive was one of her top ten ways she definitely did _not_ want to die. All hope Elsa had for mercy faded as Aurora roughly grabbed her arms and, with a surprising strength, tugged Elsa to her feet and shoved her toward the door.

As they crossed the threshold Elsa realized that night had fallen, meaning that hours had passed since she last remembered anything. That thought that made her all the more anxious to locate her team and get out of here as quickly as possible. Aurora muttered something that Elsa didn't quite catch as she shoved Elsa to the ground by a tree and left her there, presumably to join up with the other cultists.

"West?"

"Bjorgman." Elsa breathed his name like a whispered prayer. One down, one to go. "Do you have eyes on Fields?"

"Negative." He said tentatively.

"How many, do you think?" She asked, peering as far as she could in either direction but seeing no one in sight.

"They knocked me out when they picked us up and it was already getting dark when I came to." Kris admitted, "Can't be sure, but I've seen at least six. Probably more."

"They didn't tie me to the tree, just my hands. You?" Elsa asked.

"Same. But without Fields in sight-"

A brilliant flash of light stopped Elsa's sentence in her throat. In the distance the massive pyre, no doubt the one she was to be burned upon, had been set aflame all at once.

Frantic drumbeats began softly, only growing louder as a line of figures came into view. Fifteen, at least, each cloaked in a fur of some sort, hoods hiding their faces as they marched in synchrony. One figure was raised above them, being led toward the fire on some sort of open air litter.

As the litter passed in front of the flames, Elsa could only groan miserably. It was Anna atop the litter, looking like a frightened, sacrificial lamb. Flowers had been woven into a fresh braid that draped down her back and Elsa could see the outline of antlers that had been set on Anna's head like a crown. Her mouth was moving, as if she were trying to reason with the figures, but her voice was no match for the frenzied drumbeats.

Then, silence. Save the crackling of the fire there was nothing. One of the figures stepped forward and extended a hand to Anna, their head inclining slightly as they guided Anna to the ground. Elsa tensed at the sight, wondering if she was not to be the only sacrifice tonight.

"What's happening?" Kris whispered nervously. "That sounds like a _lot_ more than six people."

"Well, you're not wrong." Elsa was as quiet as she could manage to be, hoping not to draw the eyes of the cultists. "The woman that brought me here said I was going to be sacrificed. They've got Anna in some strange get up though, I don't like the way it looks..."

"We have to do something."

Elsa bit back a snarky comment, promising herself that she would bring up his stupid suggestion later. Instead, she focused on freeing herself from her bindings before anything happened to Anna.

"Friends!" It had been a woman who had helped Anna down, that much was made clear when her booming voice addressed the gathering. "The forest draws its' penance from us each day, but on this day we have been deemed worthy at long last. Gifts beyond imagination were brought right to our doorstep! A sacrifice, and someone to rule at my side when my powers are restored to me."

 _Ingris_. All the words that followed were drowned out by the sound of Elsa's own heart beating loudly, purposefully in her ears. Fear slithered like eels in her stomach as Elsa tried to reign her emotions in. Anna would be safe, they all would, if she could just get her mind around a plan.

The air smelled of pelts, of fire and ash, but otherwise she couldn't sense anything out of the ordinary. _They're humans._ Elsa thought to herself as she frantically worked the knots binding her loose. _But they've been sacrificing non-humans. They know enough, surely. I won't drive them all into madness if I have to..._

"Listen, I'm not what you think I-" Anna tried to interject, but Ingris cut her off with a gentle touch to her cheek. The sight spurred Elsa's fingers to move faster.

"The forest spoke to me of your arrival, my dear." Ingris' voice teetered on anger, but just as quickly backed off into more dulcet tones. "That you would arrive with your bright spirit, and bring with you the one who must be sacrificed to bring back my powers to me."

"I don't know who you think I am" Anna insisted again, "but I absolutely cannot lead a group of...who are you, exactly?"

"You jest." Ingris responded calmly, laughing a little before continuing. "Surely you would not make liars of the trees?"

"I-" Anna was stammering now, obviously searching for words that she didn't have. "I'm not, I don't have..."

The crowd began to murmur. They voiced their unease softly at first but grew louder until Ingris raised a fist into the air. Silence fell again at the gesture, but Elsa could see that some of them were exchanging looks of doubt.

"I'm not what you think I am." Anna's voice shook at first, quavering a little but becoming more confident with each word she spoke. "I am so much more. She speaks of me as some plaything! Can you not feel the wildness within me, threatening to come forth at my will? Can you not see the true power of the forest in my eyes? Look, and know that this woman is a false prophet."

Elsa's movements paused as a wave of admiration rushed through her. In an instant she realized that she had been worried for nothing. All this time she thought Anna might need rescuing, but the way Anna's voice changed, the surge of confidence that overcame her as as she took on this imaginary role of forest guardian...it was inspirational enough to send a pleasant shiver down Elsa's spine.

"She's clever." Kris chortled under his breath, "I'm free, you?"

"Yes." Elsa exhaled a nervous breath in response, "I just need an opening so I can get to her, then we run like hell and call for backup. These people are nuts."

"You deny our queen her rightful place? What proof have we of your supposed power?" A naysayer from the crowd spoke up, and behind his voice came jeers of agreement as they shifted forward slightly.

"Silence!" Anna bellowed over the crowd. "You wish for a demonstration? Then you shall have it."

"As their queen, I will not deny them a demonstration of your power. Even if I doubt that it will rival my own when it is returned to me at long last." Ingris sneered, "You may choose any of my men-"

"They are not worthy." Anna spat the words, and with a clicking sound of disapproval Ingris stepped back from her with arms spread wide in a gesture that seemed to give Anna free reign.

Anna must have given some indication for the crowd to part, for they opened up a clear path to where Elsa sat. Anna moved with a grace that Elsa hadn't seen from her before, each step smooth and serene until she stood right at Elsa's feet.

The regal expression Anna had been wearing for the crowd was replaced briefly by a smirk, and a wink. Elsa had the feeling that if Anna could have gotten away with a more obvious gesture she would have done so. Anna then turned back to the crowd and raised her arms in the air.

"Your queen says this sacrifice will return her power." Anna's voice carried an unfamiliar strength, and just the right amount of disapprocal, as she addressed the crowd. "I say that she has stolen precious time from all of you for no reason but to bolster her own ego. She has no power, and I will prove it."

The crowd rumbled with disapproval but Anna dropped her arms and did something that Elsa couldn't see. Whatever it had been it quieted them all. Then Anna turned back to her and a strange feeling gripped Elsa. For the first time since knowing her Elsa felt small under Anna's gaze. That realization startled her more than she cared to admit.

"Please tell me you're wearing the good stuff today. Because this is going to get _real_ awkward if not."

Anna had whispered the words as she knelt dramatically in front of Elsa, gripping Elsa's chin firmly and forcing her to look into Anna's eyes. A show, for the crowd no doubt, but one that caught Elsa's breath in her throat.

"Yes." Elsa barely breathed her reply, unable to summon more than the single word.

Anna seemed to trust that Elsa would know what to do, or she didn't want to risk anyone overhearing her, for she didn't say anything more. She feigned untying the knots behind Elsa's back, and Elsa thought she heard her exhale a laugh as she realized that Elsa was already free of her binding. Then, Anna brought Elsa to her feet and reached up to place hands on both of her shoulders.

Elsa fought her racing heart by taking slow, steadying breaths and trying to appear as gracious as she could. All eyes were on them as Anna pressed to her tip toes and gripped Elsa's shoulders tightly as she leaned in to Elsa's neck. Her breath was hot there for a second as she hesitated, then she bit down gently. Though Elsa's brain short circuited at the pressure of teeth on skin, the plan became all too clear the moment Anna's teeth made contact.

"Ah!" Elsa called out, contorting her face in feigned pain as she extended the word into a short, agony filled scream.

Anna lingered there, her mouth uncomfortably hot against Elsa's neck while Elsa pretended to writhe in pain. When Anna at last withdrew, Elsa raised her hand to the spot, both to hide the lack of a wound and to soothe the tingling of her skin.

The crowd was visibly unnerved now, shifting this way and that as they exchanged whispers. Elsa fell to a knee before Anna, still holding her neck with one hand, and reaching for Anna with the other. Anna rolled her eyes at Elsa before putting her game face on and turning back to the crowd.

"Ingris calls herself a queen, but she hasn't told you about the darker side of the power she craves." Anna declared, her voice taking a dark tone as she gestured back at Elsa. "Watch, see what she wishes for all of you. Watch and know that your queen is false, and that your 'gifts' to her have angered the forest. You do _not_ belong here."

She knew the words were spoken as part of the plan, but some part of Elsa felt a pang of hurt at them. Coming so close on the heels of the albeit unintentional insults from days prior, it was difficult to not feel at least a little sting. In spite of it, Elsa wrangled her emotions and put on the best damn act that she could muster.

 _They won't lose it if they see you._ She reminded herself, hoping beyond hope that she was right.

Elsa let the hand that had been reaching for Anna fall to the ground, then clutched at the dirt below her fingers as her other hand clawed at the 'wound' in her neck. The intermittent whimpers of pain evolved into frantic bellows as she fell to her side, writhing in the dirt and curling in on herself. First she changed a hand, then her feet and legs, until the fearful cries became deep, rumbling growls and all that was left of her was her most monstrous form.

The crowd had begun to whisper now, the sound like tens of frantic snakes testing the air. Feigning weakness, Elsa placed a transformed hand flat to the ground, swaying as she rose up onto two feet. She made sure to blink slowly, to glance at her limbs as if she had never seen them before, to do anything that she recalled seeing in cheesy monster movies. When she took the first shaky step forward the crowd gasped in abject horror and recoiled. But to her relief, none showed signs of madness.

"The forest is beautiful, yes, but your false queen cannot, and should not, control the wild that lives here." Anna called into the night.

"Surely you will not believe this stranger!" Ingris frantically pushed her way through the crowd and made a beeline toward Anna.

Elsa lunged forward, protectively standing in front of Anna as a growl rumbled low and menacing in her throat.

"Your queen has only mastered control over what she's made of you. This creature of the forest so blatantly rejects her." Anna's voice was like silk draped over the point of a blade, utterly smooth but with a hint of a threat buried just beneath the surface. "The forest will not be controlled, certainly not by her."

She pointed openly at Ingris, and the accusatory gesture paired with her suggestion was more than enough to set the crowd to speaking openly of how unhappy they were. Some even shed their heavy cloaks, revealing frames so thin that Elsa wondered if they were merely skeletons brought to life.

Even with the loss clear to all other eyes, Ingris hadn't seemed to realize her place yet. With a manic look, she produced a knife and brandished it at Elsa. "You will leave. You will forget this place and-"

"Want to try that again, lady?" Kris growled from the shadows. The sound of a gun cocking told Elsa that he had taken the liberty of locating their confiscated weapons while all eyes had been on Anna. "Drop it."

For half a second it looked like Ingris was ready to put up a fight, but her hand began to shake and she threw the knife to the ground without much fuss. Like lightning Kris was at Ingris' side, binding her with ropes that he seemed to conjure from nowhere.

Elsa let loose of a breath she hadn't realized she had been holding when she saw Ingris forced to the ground, bound tightly and gagged. Elsa turned to Anna for some sign that it was safe to change back, but Anna practically threw herself at Elsa in that moment. The transformation back to humanity rushed over her fluidly as she clumsily extended her arms to catch Anna in an awkward hug.

"They were really here!" Anna whispered excitedly, "We did it!"

Elsa shook her head, laughing breathlessly. " _You_ did it. That was incredible Fields, I-"

"Elsa!"

Aurora's voice was nearly frantic as she approached at a jog, slowing with a confused look as she realized that Elsa was no longer the brutish beast that she had been a moment before. Hurriedly Aurora grasped Elsa's arm and all but pulled her from Anna's arms. She began patting Elsa down and turning her this way and that to look her over.

Apologetically, Aurora asked. "Are you alright? Let me look at you, please. It's the least I can do."

Elsa's eyes widened, unsure why Aurora would bother coming back to her when a route to freedom had been so readily provided to her. Then, a more terrifying thought occurred to her. If Anna insisted on reporting Aurora's existence, then Maleficent would be at risk as well.

"Who is this, West?" Anna seemed on edge, looking between Aurora and Elsa with a wary expression.

"Fields, you have to forget that you saw her." Elsa pleaded, gently pushing Aurora behind her as if the act might make Anna forget her. It didn't matter if she looked foolish as long as Aurora and Maleficent were safe at the end of the day. "They can't know about her, they just can't."

"You want me to lie?" Anna's brows pinched together as she took a step back from Elsa and Aurora, the look in her eyes veering dangerously close to betrayal. Anna angrily stammered, "I don't even, who is this girl West?"

"Why is she calling you West?" Aurora interrupted, reaching out and grasping Elsa's arm to gently tug her backward and farther away from Anna. "Elsa, we should go. There's no telling what more these people will do to harm you if you stay. "

"Why is _she_ calling you Elsa?" Anna's voice had risen slightly, almost accusatory as she demanded to know, "What the hell is going on here?"

Elsa's mind spiraled in spite of herself. Anna had been too proficient an actress for her own good and Aurora had eaten up every bit of that act. Aurora believed that Anna had genuinely harmed Elsa, and Anna was suspicious of someone who had obviously been one of the cultists. The situation had to be diffused, and quickly. There was not much time before they would have to contact S.N.O. with numbers and details about the rescue.

Elsa turned to Aurora, putting on her best smile in hopes that it might help mask her concern. "Aurora, you have to go. She'll explain when you get there, but it's important that you get out of here. Now."

Not fooled by Elsa's act, Aurora stood firm and shook her head. "That woman has made you some kind of beast. I can't leave you with her, if I did Maleficent would-"

"Stop!" Elsa hissed frantically, grasping one of Aurora's hands between her own for emphasis as she pleaded again. "She'll make everything clear when you get home. Tell her thank you again, from me."

That seemed to have done the trick, though Aurora still looked more somber than was necessary. The two hardly knew one another yet Aurora was looking at her as if she were leaving an old friend. She nodded resolutely and in a last gesture of kindness she brushed Elsa's bangs from her face before heading fearlessly into the woods.

"Who the hell was-"

Elsa turned back to Anna, ready to grovel on her knees if she had to. If it kept knowledge of what really lived in this forest out of S.N.O. intelligence then she would do it a hundred times over.

"I know it looks bad, but there's a good reason for this, I promise you. I wouldn't do this if it wasn't necessary." Elsa's voice nearly cracked as she pleaded her case, "Anna, _please_."


	17. Sooner or Later

Chapter Seventeen: Sooner or Later

"Anna, _please_."

All the feelings of betrayal and confusion that had been building inside of Anna since this beautiful stranger had appeared on the scene came to a head as Elsa practically begged for Anna's silence. There was so much emotion in Elsa's eyes, much more than Anna had ever seen before. Each one conflicted with another equal but opposite emotion, making it difficult to isolate one in the fray.

A thousand questions fought for supremacy in Anna's mind, but she couldn't seem to overcome the knot welling in her throat to voice any of them. Everything about Elsa's demeanor since this woman arrived seemed wrong. Her actions, her tone, it wasn't the Elsa that Anna knew at all.

The silence hung heavily between them as Anna tried to assemble her thoughts. Had Elsa known this woman before? Had Elsa met her here and somehow fallen under a spell? Who was this woman, and why did seeing Elsa act this way with her get under Anna's skin?

"Fields, watch this crazy lady while I call for backup." Kris grunted, waving the satellite phone in Anna's direction to draw her attention.

 _Did he not see..._

No, he had to have seen that woman. There was no way that he hadn't seen her, she had to have run right by him to get to Elsa. Kris simply trusted Elsa, so much more than Anna it seemed. Guilt twisted in her chest as she realized that Elsa had rarely shown herself to be untrustworthy, yet Anna couldn't seem to agree to what was being asked of her.

 _Elsa is one of the best agents that S.N.O. has though._ Anna reminded herself, _Why would she want to hide anything from them?_

"Fields!" Kris called again, agitation seeping into his tone as he urged "Come on!"

"Okay." Anna shouted to Kris, biting her lip pensively as she studied Elsa's face again. She repeated the word a second time, quietly enough that Elsa would understand that it was meant for her. "Okay."

The relief in Elsa's eyes felt like a slap in the face. _Why does she care so much about this stranger?_ For a second it looked like Elsa might reach out to Anna, but when she didn't Anna felt an unexpected surge of disappointment. Anna bit her tongue as she turned her back on Elsa, pushing away the surprising mix of unease and hurt that settled inside of her as she stood by Ingris' side.

Waiting for backup to arrive seemed much more awkward than Anna had expected. Kris and Elsa were patrolling the boundaries of the area, keeping everyone corralled to the center. Anna was accosted by the cultists in small groups, all thanking her for freeing them from the spell they were under. Not a one seemed to care that without Elsa or Kris none of this would have been possible.

At long last though S.N.O.'s forces arrived in a stunning display of military-like power. A helicopter clearly designed to carry soldiers came roaring in, breaking the silence of the forest with the steady thrum of blades slicing through the air. Agents slid skillfully down ropes, guiding a ladder down to the ground since they were unable to land among the thick trees. The whole evacuation took less time than it had for them to arrive in the first place, and by the time they were flying away the sun had begun to break over the horizon.

Kris approached with the hazy, yellow-gold glow at his back. He smiled lazily, then clapped a hand against Anna's back. "Looks like your hunch was right after all. And to think you ever doubted yourself!"

"I guess it was." Anna admitted, though any joy she felt at being right drained out of her again as Elsa's conspicuous absence brought memories of that Aurora woman back into her mind.

"Thank you."

Anna looked sideways up at Kris, confused by the sentiment. "What for?"

"After what you said about reporting back on everything I wasn't sure..." Kris said simply, shrugging almost uncertainly.

"So you know what's going on then?" Anna almost felt ashamed at how eager her tone was, but something in her just _had_ to know who Aurora was. "You know who that woman was?"

 _And why she was so comfortable with Elsa?_ The third question went unasked, save in the confines of Anna's own mind, but the implication was heavy in her tone.

Kris' expression fell though and he shook his head with another shrug. "She must've been Elsa's guard before she was dropped off. Knowing Elsa she probably charmed her and-"

A frustrated growl escaped Anna as she raked a hand down her face, then began gesturing wildly as she vented. "So this woman ties Elsa up, holds her prisoner, is ready to _sacrifice_ her on a literal burning pyre, and Elsa still lets the woman touch her?"

The audible sound of her thoughts translating to speech jarred Anna, she hadn't meant them to sound so angry, so possessive. Had she? To cover for what she perceived to be the strangeness of her earlier questions Anna added "She just put herself on the line, all of us on the line, for some stranger?"

Kris sighed, "Elsa's not the type to..."

"To what?" Anna snapped, surprised again by her own ferocity. _Calm down, Anna._ She cleared her throat, then repeated herself "To what?"

"She wouldn't leave someone in a bad situation if she could help it. I'm sure there's a good reason for it."

It was a dodgy explanation at best, and Anna was pretty sure that he had intended to say something else, but her chance to press him for information disappeared as Elsa came jogging up to them with bags in tow.

"Shall we?" Elsa asked as she tossed Kris his bag, but she held onto Anna's. "The sooner we leave, the sooner I can get back to my own bed."

"I can get that, you know." Anna called after Elsa as she began marching toward the tree line, but Elsa either didn't hear her or didn't care to respond.

XXX

Elsa had hoped that their long night would have sapped at least some of the energy from Kris and Anna, but that wasn't the case. Dread nipped at her heels as they walked back toward camp, reminding her of the conversation that would have to happen soon, but Kris seemed oblivious to her plight as he rained praise endlessly on Anna.

"Really, I mean it Anna! I'm truly impressed! I was worried you would break, but _man_ that was a great act!"

It was almost as if he was making up for Elsa's silence with his own incessant chatter. There were only so many ways to say that Anna had done a good job, and yet somehow he was exhausting every option and then some. How could he be so energetic when Elsa felt so utterly drained?

"Nothing like being held captive to serve as inspiration, huh?" Elsa huffed from in front of them, hoping to dampen his spirits just enough to silence him for a moment or two. "Or the threat of being set on fire."

While the words had achieved the desired effect with Kris, they spurred Anna to jog and catch up to Elsa. Elsa exhaled, tensing her grip on the straps of Anna's bag as she prepared for the questions she assumed were about to come.

 _Who was that? What's going on?_ Elsa mocked Anna's voice in her mind, rolling her eyes in response to her own imagined questions.

"You know I didn't mean that stuff I said for those people, right? Werewolves are _awesome_ and-"

"So you've said." Elsa responded shortly.

Anna began again, "And about that bite, I-"

Panic lanced through her and Elsa immediately interrupted Anna "It's fine."

Elsa cleared her throat and and stared straight ahead, but the actions did little to fend off the tingling in her cheeks that the words had ignited.

 _Does she really have to do this now?_

"Wait, bite?" Kris asked from behind them, "Are you telling me that you actually _bit_ Elsa?"

"I...I mean I had to, didn't I?" Anna slowed her pace to fall in line behind Elsa again, for which Elsa was eternally grateful.

Kris didn't even try to hide his laughter. "Why, exactly? I mean I can't complain since they bought it, but couldn't you have just pretended?"

"I..." Anna hesitated, "I don't know! I just was caught up in the act and I just..."

Kris' teasing of Anna was relentless, Elsa didn't even have to glance over her shoulder to know that Anna's face was likely flushed. Right about now it was probably that familiar shade, just between pink and red. Anytime someone poked fun at Anna, or said anything mildly suggestive, the color took over Anna's face. Sometimes it even spread so far as to the tips of her ears. Elsa had almost started to wonder how she had known the shade in such detail when their arrival back at camp derailed her train of thought.

In a flurry of activity they had broken camp down and re-packed the bags that remained, one of which Elsa took and one of which Kris took. Anna had protested, of course, but in truth Elsa was happy to carry the weight. It gave her something to focus on, something that wasn't how to tell her team what she had seen in the forest.

"I lied." Elsa blurted the words out the moment they arrived back to their car, unable to contain herself any longer. "I...I lied to you."

Kris passed Elsa, popping the trunk to load supplies in the back. He shared a brief, confused look with Anna before repeating Elsa. "You lied?"

"That night I fell into the chasm I didn't" Elsa paused, taking a breath to steady herself and slow her speech down a little. "I didn't find a cave to sleep in. After the Crocotta I met...someone."

"That girl? Aurora?" Anna was at her side in an instant, now that the floodgates were open all formalities seemed to be off.

"That _woman_." Kris corrected with a nod, making grabby hands at Elsa for her bag.

"Please." Elsa tossed her bag to Kris reflexively, "This is difficult enough to say as it is, can I just finish?"

"Sorry." Anna and Kris said in unison, Anna lowered her gaze and Kris busied himself with packing the trunk.

The memory of Maleficent danced in her mind, feeling just as intangible as it had when it was unfolding before her. She struggled with the words to describe her, but was as open as she could be with them. The further she made it into her story though, the more difficult she found it to even periodically make eye contact with her team. Words flowed freely as she tried to recall every detail of her experience for them.

Elsa pressed her eyes closed as she finally finished, but she hardly had time to exhale the tension in her body before someone's hand had grasped her own. She swallowed, expecting to see Kris smiling sadly at her when she opened her eyes. Instead she found Anna there, looking irritated.

"I'm not crazy." Elsa assured her, or perhaps she was reassuring herself aloud.

Again panic began to rise inside of Elsa as she tightened her grip on Anna's hand, as if doing so would delay the reaction she dreaded. Elsa opened her mouth to continue, but Anna cut in before she could speak.

"You should have just told us all of this in the first place." Though Anna appeared frustrated, she held tight to Elsa's hand all the same. "Why all the secrecy about her? And Aurora?"

Elsa looked to the ground as she processed what she was about to say, and searched for a tactful way to say it. Anna was kind, too kind, but still very much in the dark. It didn't seem wise to come flying off the handle with her own suspicions, not when Anna seemed the type to go all vigilante justice if given even a single sign that she could.

"There wasn't really a good time to explain everything after the original omission, was there?" Kris stared openly at their entwined hands, a brow raised, but even so he was still committed to assisting Elsa as much as he could. "That and, well..."

"I'm sorry, Anna." Elsa attempted to resume Kris' explanation as he fell silent, but the words were difficult to find, and oddly painful to say aloud. "I wasn't sure I could trust you. To not tell S.N.O. I mean."

Pain or hurt, or maybe confusion,glazed Anna's eyes over until her expression morphed into something altogether stoic. It was a look Elsa had ever seen on Anna's face. Anna slipped her hand from Elsa's, leaving a cold, unsettling feeling in its' wake, one that made Elsa squirm uncomfortably on her feet.

"I see." Anna muttered quietly.

Her response had only been two words, but Elsa could feel the weight behind them. Anna had trusted Elsa so many times when she had no reason to, and here Elsa was refusing to do the same with yet another important thing. Resentment seemed to wash off of Anna in waves as stayed silent, her lips pursed almost angrily.

"Anna it's not-"

"No, no." Anna blinked rapidly and shook her head a few times, "I get it."

Equal parts relief and confusion washed over Elsa. _She 'gets it?'_ Stupidly, Elsa breathed "What?"

"You guys are closer than I'll ever be to either of you." Anna sounded a little irritated at that, "I'm still new, you don't know if my ethics line up with yours."

"It's not a matter of ethics, Anna. It's a matter of-"

Elsa cut Kris off before he could finish his statement, giving him a little glare. "I should have trusted you. You...well, you deserve more than I've given you."

Anna glanced briefly up at Elsa, and Elsa swore that for half an instant there was a small smile threatening to overtake Anna's mouth.

"Can we go home now?" Anna sighed. "I never want to see this stupid forest again."

 _The Following Day..._

"I imagined something so much cooler than this." Anna whined, rifling her through her report again. "So we just turn them in and-"

"And then we get paid and have a feast!" Kris interjected, cutting Anna off from repeating herself yet again.

"Bureaucracy, Anna." Elsa hummed, chancing a sideways smile at her. "It makes the S.N.O. world go 'round."

Things with Anna still seemed a little rocky today, but at least Anna didn't completely ignore Elsa's comment. Elsa held the door open for both Anna and Kris as they bypassed her on their way into headquarters. The trio barely had time to hear the door behind them close before Felix appeared out of nowhere with that ever present smile on his face.

"This way, Agent."

Anna glanced over her shoulder, making eye contact with Elsa who could only shrug in response. How should she know what Felix wanted with them so shortly after the end of their mission? Elsa stepped forward, falling in line beside Anna only to be greeted with an annoying series of 'tut' sounds from Felix.

" _Just_ Agent Fields." Felix said firmly, waving a dismissive hand at Elsa and then Kris in turn.

Elsa glanced to Kris, her mouth slightly ajar at the rudeness of the gesture. Indignant, Elsa exhaled a disbelieving breath and shook her head. "This is highly irregular, Felix. I think-"

"Agent West." Despite the height difference Felix had never been one to back down under Elsa's gaze, and now was no different than any other time they had gone toe to toe. "Is there some news that you would like to enlighten me about? Perhaps something that happened on this mission that's brought you all a little closer together?"

Elsa's jaw set in a hard line at the implication. Had he even bothered to consider that Elsa may not have mentioned his crude little idea to her team yet? She didn't bother to hide her distasteful expression as she crossed her arms over her chest and firmly shook her head, a sneer threatening to take over her face.

"Then I see no reason that Agent Fields can't come with me." Felix sounded giddy, yet another victory under his belt. "This way please."

Even with Kris tugging Elsa along toward the reception desk, Elsa couldn't help herself. It was distressing to see one of her team being led away from the others, and Anna glancing back over her shoulders ever few feet didn't help. It was only when Anna and Felix disappeared from her sight line that Elsa begrudgingly threw her report to the receptionist and stormed out of the building, readying herself for a long wait back at their pod.

"You know," Kris glanced up from his book to look at Elsa, who had been pacing for the better part of an hour. "walking back and forth like that isn't going to get her here any faster."

"I don't understand why Felix would pull her aside like that." Elsa grumbled, "It just doesn't make sense. Has that _ever_ happened?"

"It's probably just because she picked this mission, she did a good job." Kris licked his thumb to turn the page, "Not that you ever told her that."

That tone in his voice told Elsa that she was in for something, she just wasn't sure what it was yet. She narrowed her eyes and took in his relaxed posture. He didn't _seem_ to be plotting anything, but something about the way he spoke didn't sit right with her.

"I'm quite sure I did." Elsa sighed, knowingly putting herself more accurately into his cross-hairs.

"When you fell in that chasm I think we both were blaming ourselves, but Anna..." Kris paused and shut his book, looking as if he felt he shouldn't be telling Elsa whatever he was about to say. "She was really concerned for you Els. She was really, really kicking herself for ever coming out there. But here we are, on the right side of a successful evac with a dangerous woman in custody. All thanks to Anna."

Elsa made a sharp u-turn to pace away from Kris as she tried to tamp down the memory of what Anna had said, and done, the night of Elsa's return to make her concern perfectly clear to Elsa. With all that had happened since then those moments felt like a lifetime ago, but they burned like a fresh brand in Elsa's mind.

"You should tell her how well she did. I think she'd like to hear it more from you than me. And I think maybe you want to give her a little praise."

 _Why would he say something like that?_ "Oh?"

Kris hummed his assent in response, but didn't say anything more. Instead he did something that he knew would spur Elsa into action, he smiled. It was a cheshire grin reserved for situations when he absolutely knew that he was right, and the very sight of it made Elsa inadvertently square her shoulders as she faced him.

"Oh just spit it out already, you're liable to explode if you don't say whatever it is you're dying to say."

"It just seems like you two are getting close. Plus, the way you were looking at her when she was bossing you around." Kris shrugged, as if it meant nothing, but that damned smile still lingered.

Elsa defensively hugged her midsection and swallowed past the lump in her throat. "How do you mean?"

"You were looking at her like, well..." Kris stroked his chin, choosing his words carefully. "I mean, I feel like if I were in your shoes I probably would have been at least a little hot and bothered."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Elsa half squeaked, flustered by the not quite accusation. She tried to stay calm but the words tumbled out like an avalanche, only growing faster and more insistent the longer she spoke. "What was I _supposed_ to look like while she was trying to look powerful? Was I supposed to buck her act in front of all those people? Just y-yank my face out of her hand and undermine her? What else was I supposed to-"

"Elsa." Kris soothed, making a calming motion with his hands. Then, he quirked a single brow up. "You know, Merida wouldn't have wanted you to be alone forever-"

"Fuck you." The response was guttural and immediate, Elsa growled the words and shot him a glare icy enough to freeze him mid sentence. "Don't even. _Don't_."

Tears began to sting at Elsa's eyes in spite of herself. Instinctively she looked toward her room, then toward the front door, frantically trying to decide which route was more advantageous to hide herself away before the sob that threatened to escape her came in full force. Kris tried to rise from the couch, but in that instant Elsa bolted for the front door. She wasn't sure where she was headed, but as long as it wasn't here she was certain she would be fine.

XXX

Whatever Anna had expected to happen after this mission, it hadn't been that. Felix had pulled her from her group just to lay on the praise away from their ears, to encourage her to keep up the great work. Apparently the captives, as well as the agents that had assisted, had spoken highly of her. Highly enough that Felix had even mentioned a special project in the future if she was able to maintain her progress! Still, it struck Anna as odd that he hadn't wanted to tell her all of that in front of Elsa or Kris.

Anna sighed loudly to herself as she ruminated on all that Felix had said, becoming so wrapped up in her thoughts that she didn't register another person approaching on the path until it was too late. The collision wasn't all that bad, but it still put Anna far too close to a stranger.

Anna pushed herself back from the figure and frantically began to apologize. "I'm so sorry, I wasn't...Elsa?"

"Anna." Elsa sounded distant, maybe distracted. "What are you doing out here?"

Anna looked Elsa over and concern began to bloom as she realized that Elsa's eyes were rimmed in an all too familiar shade of red. _Has she been crying?_

"Thinking. Processing." Anna's response was choppy, but it was all she could manage given her shock.

"Right, your meeting." Elsa snuffled quietly, then stepped further away from Anna as she wiped her face. "How did that go?"

Anna's brows came together at the sight. If Elsa had legitimately been crying she wasn't bothering to hide it at all. Which was _definitely_ out of the norm for Elsa. Though the events of her meeting had seemed important a moment ago, seeing Elsa like this put all that on the back burner.

"Are you, are you alright Elsa?" Anna stepped toward Elsa, reaching out to touch her arm.

"No, not really." Elsa laughed, blinking rapidly as she briefly looked up to the sky and took a breath, "But that isn't important. Your meeting? Was everything alright?"

Anna exhaled a frustrated breath as anger at the source of Elsa's tears stewed within her. Elsa was behaving as if it was no big deal that her face was stained with tears, as if anything that happened in that meeting could be more important than something making her upset enough to cry. Not just to cry, but to not even care that anyone might see her crying.

"You first?" Anna meant the words to be a demand, to be strong so Elsa wouldn't argue, but she had barely managed to make them sound like a suggestion.

"Really, it's not anything you'd be interested in anyway." Elsa sounded dismissive, but not entirely so.

Anna didn't even bother to fortify herself for a harsh response, something told her that if she pushed just a little bit that Elsa might let her in. Whatever this was had already torn down Elsa's walls and boundaries so completely, even if only temporarily, that Elsa didn't seem to have even a hint of her usual desire to be secretive.

"Come on, let's sit and talk." Anna gestured to a nearby bench along the path and Elsa made her way there almost mechanically. Anna kept close behind, sitting only when Elsa had seated herself. "Now, what happened?"

Elsa laughed again, the kind of self depreciating laugh that only someone who was really hurt could make, but then she muttered something under her breath that Anna didn't quite catch. Elsa put a hand briefly over her mouth before shaking her head and dropping her hand back to her lap. There was a quiet rustling as Elsa reached into her pocket and pulled out her wallet, and from that a well worn photo.

"This isn't how I imagined doing this, but here we are I guess." Elsa said, her voice a little watery as she stared down at the photo in her hand before passing it carefully to Anna. "Merida wasn't just our teammate, she was, well..."

Anna's throat went dry at the sight of the image in front of her. A young Elsa had the camera extended with one arm and was snapping a photo of herself and Merida, both smiling as they kissed. Anna hadn't ever seen Elsa look so happy or so content, and quite suddenly Anna realized how uncomfortable it was to be looking at a relic of what Elsa had lost.

 _All this time. How could I not have seen this?_

"Your girlfriend." Once Anna realized that Elsa was struggling with the word, and that she herself was having difficulty figuring out what to say, Anna finished Elsa's sentence. "I'm so sorry, Elsa I-"

"No, no. That's not why I'm, well. That's not it." Elsa sidestepped admitting that she had been crying, and Anna smiled a little to herself at the fact that the Elsa she knew seemed to be coming back little by little.

"Then what is it?" Anna asked, passing the photo back to Elsa as if it were made of glass.

At that, Elsa hesitated again. She took the photo and replaced it, but she stayed silent for a while before answering Anna. "I had a fight with Kris."

" _What_?" Anna feigned shock. She shook her head exaggeratedly for emphasis, leaning forward on the bench and angling her head so she could still see Elsa. "Are you telling me that the dynamic duo has somehow had a disagreement? Being in close quarters twenty four seven has somehow broken down the walls of your indestructible friendship?"

A small smirk began at the corner of Elsa's mouth and she rolled her eyes at Anna before leveling her with an only semi-serious gaze. "I get it, _Anna_. People are bound to fight, but this was...well, this was different. That's all."

"Was it about Merida? About you still working on her murder?"

The words were out of Anna's mouth before she could stop herself, before she could second guess whether or not Elsa would answer her. Elsa leaned forward, placing her elbows on her knees and burying her face in her hands, but rose back up quickly as if she had forced herself to regain composure.

"No." Elsa cleared her throat, her face a little flushed. "No, that wasn't it at all."

Anna could have continued the prodding and pushing for information, but as she readied another question a thought dawned on her. Elsa was much more vulnerable than Anna had seen her up to this point, even with a gaping wound in her stomach Elsa had been more put together than she was now.

 _Is it right to keep pushing when she's clearly not herself?_

Sighing, Anna brought her hands to her lap and pondered what she could possibly do to help someone like Elsa rise out of this strange state. Like lightning an idea struck, sending Anna clambering off the bench and onto her knees in front of Elsa.

With a brow raised and a playful grin on her lips Anna placed her hands on Elsa's knees and asked, "Do you want to plot some revenge?"

"A woman after my heart." Another watery laugh, but Elsa still had a hint of that same sadness in her eyes. "Nice try, but you're ahead of yourself. Your meeting?"

"Oh, right." Disappointed Anna got to her feet, brushing the dirt from the knees of her pants. "Just a lot of praise, Felix did mention a potential new position for me here if I keep up the good work though! A special project!"

Instantaneously Elsa's expression went neutral. Anna had surmised that Elsa used this expression when she was thinking hard about something, or trying not to give away her opinion on a subject. Elsa's hands gripped the edge of the bench tightly for a second, almost imperceptible. If Anna hadn't been standing she might not have seen it at all.

"Sounds like you're moving up in the world." Elsa barely mumbled the words.

"I feel like they've been speaking highly of me since I got here, but I'm still not really sure why." Anna admitted. "I'm still a little worried this has all been an elaborate dream and I'm going to wake up to my alarm for a shift at the coffee shop any minute now."

That seemed to amuse Elsa, she smirked briefly before pushing herself off the bench and to her feet. "I'm sure you'll get that assignment sooner than you think. I'll be sad to lose you though."

 _Sad to lose me?_

Anna's breath caught at the praise, she was barely able to suppress her grin. "Don't worry, I'll make sure you get brought along with me."

"Is that so?"

"Of course." Anna quipped, making finger guns briefly at Elsa, "I could always use a subordinate to do my bidding."

That comment seemed to rouse something in Elsa, awaken the part of her that Anna was most familiar with. Elsa raised a brow, an easy smile on her lips as she stepped toward Anna. There was an almost threatening chill in Elsa's stare as she stood all too close to Anna and smoothed out the collar of Anna's shirt. Anna's heart hammered in her chest as she stood there, bearing the scrutiny in Elsa's gaze as calmly as she could.

"How cute. You _actually_ think you could boss me around." Elsa scoffed, then tapped Anna's nose and turned to walk away. "You're pretty good for a newbie, but you'll have to be a lot better to give me orders Fields."

Anna couldn't even be mad at the use of her last name, she was too busy trying not to combust. The proximity, the words, the _look_ , it had almost been too much to handle. Had her face flushed before or after Elsa had turned her back? And how the hell was Elsa so good at getting under her skin? Frustrated yet again by her seeming inability to cope with Elsa's teasing, Anna kicked at the leg of the bench they had just been on before following after Elsa.

 _ **a/n: Hey all! I hope you're still enjoying, I know I've been having some fun with the planning of the next few chapters. I have begun posting the illustrations on my tumblr (only one, the Crocotta, has been posted), but I haven't yet decided on a clever hashtag to search them by - I'm happily taking suggestions for that! See you all in about a month!**_


	18. Bottle It Up

Chapter Eighteen: Bottle It Up

Patching things up after verbal altercations had always been tricky for Elsa, but nothing could have prepared her for the sheer volume of awkwardness that came in the wake of her confrontation with Kris. As much discomfort as being around him caused her, being around Anna was far worse. Hot on the heels of Kris' accusation it all felt like too much, she had let Anna see too far in and now there was no way to take it back.

And Kris! How could he have ever suggested that Elsa might have a thing for Anna? He hadn't said it exactly, not with those precise words, but it didn't take a genius to see through the words he did use. A thought struck Elsa though, had it only been easy to see through his thinly veiled accusation because there actually _was_ some part of Elsa that bore secret feelings for Anna Fields, of all people?

 _No_. Elsa firmly thought to herself, wrenching her brain out of this cyclical train of thought for what must have been the tenth or eleventh time today. _He's in my head, that's all. Of course I don't care about Anna. He just put the thought there so it keeps coming up._

"Unless..."

Elsa clapped a hand quickly over her mouth, startled that she had verbalized the thought, that she would ever even consider something so utterly ridiculous. Anna was her subordinate, nothing more. Elsa breathed in deeply, then shook her hands a little as she exhaled. Contrary to her hopes, the action did little to calm her frayed nerves.

"I have to get out of here." Elsa whispered to herself.

With a more forceful gesture than she intended Elsa wrenched her room door open, then awkwardly shuffled out and shut it behind her. Kris hardly spared her a glance, all consumed with whatever video game he was playing on the living room screen.

"I'm going in to town. I'll be back later." Elsa announced, loudly enough that she could ensure Kris heard her over the sound of his character dying a horrible death.

"Town?"

Elsa stiffened, blinking a few times as she registered that it was most definitely Anna's voice that she had heard. Where Anna had come from she had no clue, but it was too late to retract her statement now.

"Y-yes." Elsa admitted, wary of how excited Anna had sounded about the prospect of being anywhere but in the pod.

"Could I come too? I haven't been back since..."

Anna trailed off, but she needn't have finished her sentence anyway. In spite of her immediate desire to decline Anna, Elsa couldn't deny that she really had no reason to. She couldn't very well tell Anna she was leaving specifically to avoid her, but any other excuse seemed flimsy at best.

Gritting her teeth and trying not to sound as put out as she felt, Elsa nodded. "Yeah, I guess that would be fine."

The idea of having to make small talk with Anna all the way to Arendelle weighed heavily on Elsa's mind, but she quickly realized that her agonizing had been unwarranted. Like a child Anna spoke and spoke, filling every single silence with stories of her previous life. Her old job, her favorite haunts, Anna talked so much that Elsa hardly had to contribute anything to the conversation.

"So what are we here for, anyway?" Anna asked, excitedly looking this way and that at places that she was clearly familiar with.

"Well" Elsa had almost spit out a lie when her phone buzzed in her pocket. A quick glance showed that Olaf was requesting to meet, a meeting that Elsa gladly accepted. "a little business, a little pleasure."

Anna glanced at Elsa with wide eyes before seeming to regain her composure. "Business? I didn't realize you had taken another mission."

"I didn't." Elsa's phone went off again and she paused to read Olaf's reply with a slight hint of displeasure. "We're meeting up with Olaf for some-"

"I get to meet Olaf?"

Anna's smile was infectious, Elsa couldn't help the little grin on her lips in spite of her sour mood at his choice of meeting spots. The tease was out of her mouth before she had time to consider the ramifications.

"You weren't nearly this excited to meet me."

Anna's quip came quickly, and without even confirming where they were headed Anna began to walk off as she said the words. "Maybe I was, but you were too busy being rude to notice."

 _Why did I say that?_ Elsa scolded herself, _And since when is she so quick on her feet?_

"Hey, this way smarty pants." Elsa called after her.

From then on Anna followed obediently, and quietly, as Elsa led the way to a small, hole in the wall cafe. The sign on the door seemed to blur as Elsa reached it, she had stopped entirely and her fingers just barely touched the handle. To her credit, Anna managed to stand patiently for about ten seconds before speaking up.

"It's a pull." Anna chirped happily from behind Elsa.

"I know that." Elsa snapped, then tugged the door open and rushed through before she lost her nerve.

Anna had buried her face in the menu the moment they were seated and served drinks. She was muttering to herself, loudly enough that Elsa could hear snippets here and there but no so loudly that she might disturb other tables around them. In the strange semi-silence that Anna's intense focus on the menu left, Elsa found that her mind raced.

 _Feelings for Anna_. Elsa thought to herself, rolling her eyes. _Imagine feeling something for someone who talks to themselves when they read over a menu_. _What a joke_.

Elsa mused to herself about how little control she had had over her day, how each and every decision seemed to be placing her more into Anna's personal space than she wanted to be. Of course she couldn't ignore the thought that all of it had somehow been her own fault, that she had somehow subconsciously led herself here because Kris might be-

"Sorry, sorry!" Olaf apologized profusely as he hurriedly attempted to sidle into the booth across from Elsa, "Had to finish processing some paperwork on another...case..."

He paused, taking a long look at the menu across from Elsa standing up all on it's own. Olaf glanced at Elsa, looking rather befuddled at the fact that there was another person sitting with her at the table. The look on his face was a strange one, but whatever questions were on his tongue remaining unasked as he awaited some form of explanation.

"She's fine." Elsa said calmly, placing a finger at the top of Anna's menu and tilting it down until Anna snapped back into the moment and realized that their company had arrived. "This is Olaf. Olaf, this is Anna, Anna Fields."

Anna nearly toppled her drink as she shot up from her seat to shake Olaf's hand with both of her own. She looked far too enthusiastic for Elsa's liking, and it seemed possibly for Olaf's as well. He had accepted Anna's hand shake before slowly settling into the booth next to her, but he kept glancing back at Elsa.

Surprise danced all over his face and Elsa struggled to contain her amusement, taking a sip of her tea to cover the smile that threatened to ruin her calm exterior. He looked almost taken aback, but Elsa had no doubt in her mind that Olaf was grateful to have someone less curt at this meeting.

"Now that the pleasantries are out of the way," Elsa leaned forward, lacing her fingers together over the top of the table. "what more do you have for me?"

Olaf's expression sobered at the question. Elsa thought she saw his throat bob in what she could only assume was a nervous swallow, then he fiddled with his silverware before responding.

"Nothing, I'm afraid." Olaf muttered, looking anywhere but at Elsa. "Seems like if this is really his calling card then this guy hasn't been openly using it anywhere."

"Smart." Anna nodded to herself, "He probably has some kind of link to law enforcement. Knows there's a database that could link him to the killings, so he made his mark just subtle enough that they could be easily overlooked. Even by a professional eye."

Elsa got the distinct feeling that Anna had added the last bit to assuage any offense that she or Olaf may have taken, but she let it slide. Olaf nervously glanced between Anna and Elsa, obviously unsure of the extent to which Anna understood the case.

 _It must be strange for him to have someone else here, someone so genuinely interested in what he has to say._

"Could be." Elsa agreed, "But what sort is the question. It won't be easy to narrow down."

"Those are some dark clouds over your heads, can't have anyone upset in my cafe! Anything I can bring ya'll to brighten up your mood?"

Elsa tensed up again at the familiar voice, anxiousness settling in her belly like a stone as she pointedly look down at their table.

"I'd love to try some of your beignets, if we could get an order to share?"

Anna sounded as if she were positively beaming, but it wasn't until Elsa was certain that they were alone again that she turned to Anna with a stern frown. "We're supposed to be inconspicuous."

"What could be _more_ inconspicuous than ordering food at a restaurant?" Anna asked innocently, shrugging her shoulders. "Besides, you did say business _and_ pleasure didn't you?"

"I think" Olaf stepped in, likely trying to sidestep an entire argument about what was, and was not, appropriate to do in a situation like theirs, "that a little snack might be nice. This one never chats with me for long."

"For good reason." Elsa huffed, glancing around the restaurant. "You always pick the worst places to meet."

"Worst?" Anna, too, looked around, as if to emphasize her coming point, "This place looks, and _smells_ incredible."

Elsa clenched her jaw tightly shut as the beignets arrived, fighting the urge to look upon the familiar face that dropped them off. If either Anna or Olaf sensed how uncomfortable she was, neither said anything about it.

"If you didn't have anything more on our special project then why set up a meeting?" Elsa drummed her fingers on the tabletop impatiently.

Olaf swallowed, dabbing chocolate sauce from the corner of his mouth before sliding a folder with the code 'HR-176' printed on the front across the table at her. "Take a look at this."

"Another unsanctioned case?" Elsa sighed, shaking her head and attempting to pass the file back to Olaf. "Olaf, I can't keep-"

"It's available to you." Olaf slapped a hand on the file and shoved it back at her as he hurriedly explained, "I wasn't sure if you'd be available for it or not, but I thought you should take a look since it's, well, of special interest to you."

"Special interest?" Elsa repeated his words skeptically, then flipped open the file.

Her expression hardened as she flipped through page after page of missing posters, all of people who looked as if they were barely adults, if they were at all. Young men and women smiled up at her from missing posters that had clearly been dropped off at the police station by worried family members.

"Just how is this of special interest to me?" Elsa demanded, though she didn't slide the file back to him right away.

"The circumstances surrounding their disappearances was...well, take a look." Olaf reached across the table, rifling through the missing posters for a copy of the police reports taken for each missing person.

Some of them had been missing for nearly a year, Elsa noted, but the most pertinent detail was in the dates of disappearance. "You're telling me someone is taking kids on full moons?"

"Exactly." Olaf nodded, polishing off their plate of shared goodies with a satisfied sigh.

In an instant their waitress was back to remove their plate, but this time she lingered. "You taking a fresh look into those missing kids, officer?"

"Actually I was hoping my friend would help us out. Unfortunately Arendelle P.D. has reached a bit of a wall." Olaf admitted, glancing up at Elsa with pleading eyes.

"That true, miss?"

Elsa's heart ached as she finally looked up into the familiar face. Tiana's eyes were still just as kind as they had always been, but that spark of recognition was long gone. To her now, Elsa was just another patron rolling through town.

Elsa averted her eyes, "I'll consider it."

"Glad to hear it. No way the news is right, that many kids don't just walk away from their families."

Elsa packed up her copy of the file while Anna and Olaf bid one another enthusiastic goodbyes. She found herself wondering if she could have been one of these missing posters if there had been more than just one person left to miss her when she was taken. Elsa halfheartedly waved at Olaf as they parted ways, but Anna hardly let them get a few feet from him before beginning her questioning.

"So who is she?" Anna sounded cautious but she was smiling as if she had asked Elsa about the weather.

"Who is who?"

"Oh please, playing dumb is a terrible look for you." Anna chided, "You hardly looked at our waitress, and when you did you looked like a lost puppy."

Elsa swallowed past the shame at having been so blatantly obvious yet again, and in front of Anna to make matters worse, but stayed quiet in the hope that Anna might drop it.

"She an ex or something?" Anna asked, clearly taking Elsa's silence as an invitation to continue to prod at the subject.

"No." Elsa said hastily, then sighed as she ran a hand down her face. "It's...complicated."

"So _definitely_ an ex."

Anna smiled sideways at Elsa as she said it, and the mixture of emotions that fought for supremacy within Elsa's heart became more muddled by the second. She wanted to be angry, but more than that she was confused. Why did Anna care so much? Couldn't she just leave it alone?

"She was a friend."

Anna must have been feeling confident on these familiar streets, for her response came rapid fire. "Was?"

Elsa growled in frustration, wondering what right Anna thought she had demanding information about Elsa's past. She readied herself for an argument, but as she looked at Anna to say something she found that she couldn't quite muster the words. Anna still wasn't looking at Elsa, her eyes were drawn here and there slowly, almost painstakingly, and the wistful expression on her face was undeniable.

Elsa felt stupid, even a little guilty, as the realization dawned on her. Elsa had been so wrapped up in her own emotional turmoil that she had almost overlooked the subtle pain written all over Anna's face. The slight inward tilt of her brows, the almost imperceptible tightening of her lips, now that Elsa was looking they seemed to shine like neon in the night.

Anna had memories here too, things she could never do again, people she couldn't visit with, and every bit of those memories were stirred up being here on this familiar street. At least in that aspect, she was scarcely different from Elsa.

 _Well, it's not like it could hurt..._

"After-" Elsa paused briefly as a stranger passed by them, continuing only when she was sure they were out of earshot. "After what happened the night I met you they hunted me down. Like an animal. Found me in my apartment, obviously I wasn't thinking clearly enough to hide. Once I was in custody, they made people that I knew forget about me so they could bring me in to S.N.O."

The words were harder to get out than Elsa had expected. This certainly wasn't the first time she had told the story, but the wound it left felt fresher than ever after seeing Tiana. Even as Elsa's voice broke at the end of her sentence Anna never looked at her, just listened quietly as they continued walking down the streets.

"I'm sorry." Anna uttered.

She had glanced over at Elsa for only a second before staring straight ahead again. It was almost as if she was trying not to be intrusive now, but the gesture was strange to Elsa. It didn't feel like what she expected of Anna.

Elsa sighed, "What's there to be sorry for?"

Anna was clenching and releasing her fist at her side as they walked, but the gesture stopped before Elsa could concern herself with it too much.

"I just, there wasn't really anyone to forget me." Anna's smile was sheepish, but clearly sad. "Maybe my co-workers, but no one close. I hadn't even thought about the people I left behind. I can't imagine how you must feel."

"Tiana was my best friend back then. But she's better off now, don't you think?" Elsa vocalized her thoughts, her fears, more quickly than her brain could tell her to stop talking. "She's got her own restaurant! She's doing great without me."

Anna exhaled a short laugh, "You really are the most self-deprecating person I know."

"You flatter me." Elsa said flatly.

"Can't you even _begin_ to imagine how much better her life could have been with her best friend right there supporting her through it all?" Anna shook her head, "With your stubborn streak and determination I wouldn't be surprised if she would have been able to grow her business into a chain by now."

Elsa trained her eyes forward, whether Anna's words were blatant flattery or genuine kindness she couldn't say, but either way they left Elsa finding it difficult to keep her breathing steady. Kris' words crept back into her mind yet again, only to be snuffed firmly out before they could take root.

 _No, absolutely not._

"I know being back here must be hard. My first time back in the city was awful." Elsa said the words quickly, trying to get them out before she lost her nerve. "I thought for sure she would remember me, in spite of whatever they did, but I learned very quickly how naive-"

"Help! Somebody, anybody!"

Elsa's eyes widened at the sound, but as she glanced to Anna she found that Anna was already looking at her with an almost eager glint in her eyes. If Elsa had known she would have been running around playing hero in the streets of Arendelle she never would have planned an outing in the first place. With a defeated sigh Elsa nodded her assent and the pair raced toward the terrified pleading.

XXX

Anna raced behind Elsa, but even at a full sprint she was no match for the speed of a werewolf. Elsa rounded a corner that Anna soon found led to an alley, and at the end of it was a young man with terror in his eyes. He was clutching at his leg, which from the knee down was covered in thick, brown fur. His shoe had practically exploded from his foot, exposing a clawed paw at the end.

In an instant Elsa was at his side, ripping off her coat and covering the appendage. "Hey, hey. I need you to breathe okay? Can you tell me your name?"

The young man continued to breathe almost raggedly, inhaling and exhaling unevenly.

"That's okay," Anna soothed, kneeling down alongside Elsa and the boy, "I'm Anna, and this is Elsa. We're going to help you out okay? Just take a second and breathe."

His eyes were wide, blown with fear or adrenaline, or some mix of the two. Next to her Elsa had pulled out her phone, obviously contacting Olaf for back up.

"We've got help coming, okay kid?" Elsa explained, making sure her jacket was covering all angles of his leg. "I know this is scary, happened to me too."

"N-no it didn't." The boy challenged, glaring almost angrily at Elsa.

"Sure did." Anna piped in. "But she was fighting off a mugger when it happened."

The mistrust in his eyes changed at the mention of a fight, as if Anna had piqued his interest. "Like a superhero?"

Anna laughed, glancing sideways at a pink-cheeked Elsa. "Well, she was a hero to me that day. She saved me. Would you like to hear about it?"

The boy nodded, and while they awaited Olaf's arrival Anna regaled the tale of the night that she and Elsa first met to his great delight. By the time Olaf loaded him in the cruiser the transformation had reversed. The boy was smiling widely, happy at the idea of what he could be with control of his power.

Elsa, however, no longer looked as calm and composed as she had before. Anna could only watch as Elsa talked in hushed tones to Olaf, seemingly arguing about something. When Elsa glared at him and turned her back on him Anna could see that something had clearly gone wrong.

"Elsa what-"

"We're going home." Elsa snapped, shoving her hands in her pockets.

The ride home was silent, Elsa had stewed angrily the entire drive, but as they pulled into the garage and Elsa shut the vehicle off the facade fell. Anna watched as Elsa gripped the steering wheel white knuckled, then Elsa let her head fall between her hands onto the wheel.

Finally, after a long and awkward silence, Elsa spoke. "...someone changed that kid. On purpose. They had to have."

"What?" Anna leaned forward slightly in her seat, inclining her head so she could see Elsa better. "Why leave him there though? Where anyone could see him?"

"You're missing the point. _Someone_ changed him."

There was an edge of frustration to Elsa's tone, clearly Anna was missing something vital. "Is that...bad?"

"Of course it is!" Elsa glanced sideways at Anna before leaning back in her seat. "If you aren't born a werewolf then there's only one kind of werewolf that should be able to change a human, and even then only with their consent. So either there's a rogue werewolf operating in Arendelle without being detected or..."

"Or?"

Elsa's hands clenched on her lap. "Or something more convoluted is going on."

"What do you mean?" Anna asked, a nervous laugh escaping her, "Like in the movies? Gearing up for a war or something?"

She had only been joking, of course, but the sound of Elsa's silence weighed heavily on her as she leaned back into the seat to ponder on it. If there was someone artificially influencing the population of psuedo-humans in Arendelle the levels of havoc that could wreak were unfathomable.

"What will happen to him? The boy?"

Elsa scoffed, shaking her head and slumping back into her seat. Bitterly Elsa grumbled, "Olaf is bringing him here."

"Here? He's a child, what could S.N.O. possibly want with-"

Elsa sighed, sounding defeated, "What else should be done with him then, Anna?"

"He could go back to his family, couldn't he?" Anna reasoned, "Isn't there some way-"

"No."

Before Anna could respond Elsa was unbuckling her seat belt and storming out of the car. Anna hurried after her, slamming the door a little harder than she meant to as she ran behind Elsa. "There's got to be something-"

Elsa rounded on Anna, backing her into the nearby wall before pinning her with an arm to either side of her. "He's not _human_ anymore. He's a danger to the society around him, even if he doesn't intend to be."

"He's a child, Elsa, he can't possibly-"

"Don't you think I want there to be a way?" Elsa choked on the words, pain and shame in her eyes as she lowered her voice to a whisper. "Of all people, don't you think I would want that?"

Taken aback, Anna blinked rapidly. "Can't we make that happen? Find a way?"

A bitter laugh escaped Elsa, who shook her head and stepped back from Anna. "Do you know how they brought me in, Anna?"

Anna quietly pondered, remembering her own experience with being brought here. It hadn't been pleasant by any means, but it certainly could have been much worse. Opting to prevent herself from saying something insensitive Anna shook her head in response.

"They shot me with tranquilizers." Elsa rubbed her forehead, that same self-deprecating laugh ringing hollow from her chest. "Fitted me with a shock collar and chained me up to drag me here and present me with 'options.' Olaf is bringing him in to prevent that, but this is still the place he has to be."

Anna felt as if she had been kicked in the stomach, tears even began to well up in her eyes as Elsa revealed the methods that S.N.O. had used for her relocation. She hadn't known Elsa then, but she would have bet anything that if they had simply asked, explained the situation, that Elsa would have gone with them willingly.

"Elsa, I-"

"Come on." Elsa glanced around, looking a little nervous. "Kris will get the wrong idea if we're out here too long."

"The wrong idea?" Anna repeated the words, but Elsa was already gone.

 _ **a/n: Hey all! Hope everyone is staying healthy out there! It's looking like my job will be cutting my hours in half due to loss of profits from this virus, so I should be able to make some more progress depending on how long that continues. See you all in about a month, maybe sooner!**_


	19. What Lies Beneath

Chapter 19: What Lies Beneath

Elsa stood quite still, arms crossed and a less than enthused expression on her face. Through the one way glass she could see the same small child that she and Anna had allowed Olaf to bring here. He was sitting perfectly still with a blank expression on his face, one that might have been unnerving if it wasn't so painfully familiar to her.

"Can you tell me why exactly you called us here for this, Felix?" Elsa managed to mask the irritation in her tone, but only just. "It's not exactly an area we specialize in."

"I called _you_ here Agent West." Felix turned to smile at Anna and Kris in spite of his insistence on only Elsa coming in, "Seeing the others is always a pleasure though."

"You never know, she might need back up." Kris piped up, returning Felix's smile.

Anna chimed in, doubt heavy in her voice. "For a child?"

"Unfortunately I believe this is a job for West alone." Felix's expression turned thoughtful, he even went so far as to tap his chin. "The child won't eat, won't talk to anyone-"

Elsa interrupted with a wave of her hand, "And just what am I supposed to do about that?"

Felix hesitated, a split second of nervousness flashing across his face. "You, well, you're aware that you and the child share some traits. I thought if he spoke with someone similar he might-"

"Might what, Felix?" Elsa nearly snarled the words, anger bubbling in her chest at the thought of being used as a pawn. "Might be more amenable to the idea that he's never going to see his family again?"

"Els." Kris stepped forward, a gentle hand on her arm.

It was a warning, but even the balm of Kris' soothing tone didn't take the sting away from knowing what was to come. She wanted to tell him that she knew, that even though she hated what had to be done she understood, but instead Elsa held her tongue and stepped toward the door.

Fingers closed around Elsa's wrist, effectively stopping her in her tracks. Then Anna's voice came from behind her, barely above a whisper. "Are you sure you want to do this?"

"It doesn't matter what I want to do." Elsa snapped before softening her tone and glancing apologetically at Anna. "Sorry, what I mean is that it's what has to be done. Whether I like it or not."

With that said Anna held on for a few seconds more before letting her grip fall away. Elsa stepped into the hall, shutting the door behind her and taking a deep breath as she approached the very next door. She had heard the speech before, she couldn't count the number of times it replayed over and over in her head when she had first arrived here, but that didn't make it any easier to deliver the news to a child. She let loose a heavy sigh and put on her best, most friendly smile before entering the room with the child.

"Elsa!" He crowed, bouncing excitedly in his chair as she joined him. "I'm so glad you're here, they won't listen to me. Can you tell them it's past time for me to be home? My mom will be mad."

The words wrenched her stomach, but Elsa maintained her calm smile and redirected the conversation as best as she could. "Are you saying you don't want to learn how to use your special powers?"

The boy's brows scrunched together, the wheels in his little head turning as he weighed his options. Then, after a long silence, the boy shook his head. "I want to go home. "

Elsa's jaw tensed as her smile fell a little. _Of course, it couldn't be easy._ Elsa could continue trying to convince him, spend hours plying him with offers of money and cool stuff, a life of popularity and happiness...but the truth had to come out sooner or later, and having already been through this herself, sooner felt like the better option.

With a gentleness that she wished someone had shown her on her arrival, Elsa explained "I'm so sorry, but that's not going to be possible."

"W-what?" There was a sharp inhale of breath from him, the sound of a child about to begin crying. "W-why not?"

"It's not safe for you at home anymore." Elsa attempted to sound soothing, but she knew the pain he was feeling all too well. "It's not safe for your parents either."

She gently patted his knee, then retracted her hand to her own lap. The gesture felt hollow when she saw the look on his face, the quick rise and fall of his chest. _Here it comes_.

"Why not?" He demanded, hands balling into fists on his lap.

"Because of what you are." Elsa gestured to the boy's leg, then held her hand up and allowed change to ripple through it before reverting it back. "What we are."

"I wanna go h-home." The child sobbed, barely intelligible through tears and snot. "Take me h-h-home!"

"I know this is difficult to hear, but this place will eventually feel like home. The people around you will feel like family, with enough time."

"No!" The boy was shouting now, he practically leaped out of his chair and grasped at his head, "No, I can't stay here!"

Elsa was on her feet in a second, prepared to jump in at any sign that the child might hurt himself unintentionally. High emotions in a young, inexperienced werewolf were known to force transformations and one misplaced claw could result in a serious injury.

"Breathe kid, just breathe for me!"

"NO!"

Elsa started at the guttural, almost primal sound of the word escaping the child's throat. Something wasn't right with the way he sounded, so Elsa took a step back and remained on guard as she assessed the situation. It was obviously a difficult time for him, and children weren't exactly readily able to cope with extreme change so easily, but something about that sound felt off.

"You can be like a superhero, just like you said. But superheroes need secret identities, so you have to stay-"

Then, the child screamed. It wasn't a word this time, just a sound filled with frustration and rage. Elsa attempted to reach out, but when the child's head raised Elsa's heart sank. His eyes had begun to go dark and in seconds his irises had gone entirely black, but the change didn't stop there.

In a truly terrifying display the child's skin began to gray, and where his small, blunt teeth had once been were now a row of jagged, crooked teeth. Most frightening was the speed with which his limbs elongated, growing far too lengthy for the size of his torso in a matter of seconds as he rocketed to well over six feet tall.

A ghoul. Elsa felt stupid at being so easily tricked, but the fact of the matter was that this being had to have devoured a werewolf child to be able to wear his skin. _Nothing has changed, something is still wrong in Arendelle_.

While she hadn't anticipated being trapped alone in a room with a literal flesh eating monster, it wouldn't be the first time that Elsa had been forced to to bluff her way out of a tight spot. "Finally decided to shed that disguise? Took you long enough."

"You could have said something sooner." The ghoul grumbled, brushing off his arms as if he were covered in dust. "Wearing a skin suit too long gets uncomfortable."

The callous sentiment put a sick feeling in Elsa's stomach, but like the professional she was she swallowed past that and offered a chair to the ghoul. "Please, take a seat. I've got some questions, if that's alright?"

Looking mildly pleased with himself, the ghoul sat. His limbs were too long for the chair now, his knees bent and rose far higher than they should have. The sight was unseemly, but it wasn't her first encounter with one of his kind and Elsa knew that she needed to gather as much information as possible from him while he was feeling generous.

"Could you tell me a little bit about how you came across a werewolf child?" Elsa asked calmly, tilting her head a little, "You're familiar with what we do here, I'm sure, and I find it difficult to believe that we would miss a child in the city."

"Not the city." The ghoul shook his head fervently, "I know where the boundary lies."

"The forest then?" Elsa asked, making a mental note to circle back to where they found the ghoul. "What would a child be doing out there?"

The ghoul shook his head, thin lips pulling back in an eerie, toothy grin. "Not _a_ child. Children."

Elsa paused, exhaling a slow breath and leaning back in her chair. Children shouldn't be in the forest, and for an inhuman child to have not only been there, but somehow been captured by a ghoul and devoured was almost unheard of. The odds had to have been astronomical.

"You'll have to forgive me, but I can't envision a scenario in which a gaggle of children simply walk into that forest." Elsa said it as politely as she could, hoping to keep the lines of communication open while calling out a possible lie. "Could you elaborate a little for me? Help me understand?"

With a surprisingly sweet tone, the ghoul began his tale. According to him a new structure had appeared in the few months since his last venture to that portion of the forest, and that little building was packed to the brim with children of varying ages. He had simply lured the first one he could from the confines of the building and devoured him.

Elsa tapped her middle finger against her leg, thinking hard about her response. "Did you know what he was?"

"Of course not!" The ghoul asserted firmly, "You think I wanted to lose control of my body? It's not like they have any kind of nutrition information on them."

Nodding along Elsa tried to appear understanding, "But you eventually _did_ end up in the city. Well past the boundary. So how did that come about?"

It was difficult to tell, but it seemed like the ghoul's expression darkened before he spoke again. "They weren't alone out there, the kids. Somebody was guarding them. Noticed one was gone and came across me ripping his-"

"Spare me the theatrics, please." Elsa recoiled at the start of the gory details, shaking her head. "Somebody saw you, and?"

"They came after me, shouting something about losing a subject?" The ghoul made an unusually human gesture, shrugging his shoulders as he continued, "Test...subject maybe? I don't know, and I don't care. Now, you have your information, can I go?"

There it was, the request to leave. The ghoul had no clue that he was the first of his kind noted to have consumed a werewolf and been affected by it, no idea that S.N.O. would be all too happy to keep him in custody for study.

With a wry smile, Elsa shook her head. "Oh, yeah, no, that's not going to happen."

"What?" The ghoul exclaimed, jaw hanging slack in shock. "You're joking. I told you what you wanted to know and-"

"And you would have been better off starving to death than eating that kid and ending up here, I'm sorry to say." Elsa explained, then crossed her arms over her chest. "I suggest you comply with their orders, it makes things a lot less painful."

With perfect timing the door to the room burst open and a small team of people dressed in heavy armor rushed in, subduing the stunned ghoul with little difficulty. Elsa watched in silence as the guards skillfully fitted a muzzle over the ghoul's mouth, protecting them from his bite, and led him roughly from the room.

Expression stoic, Elsa stared back at the false window where Felix was likely still standing there and observing. She had to hand it to him, he had assembled a strike team much more quickly than she expected, but even more surprising was the speed with which Kris and Anna joined her in the interrogation room.

"Well that was..." Kris began, but couldn't seem to find the words.

"We have to find those kids." Anna said fervently, a fire in her eyes as she addressed Elsa. "I bet you anything that kid is in the file, and if he's not then he will be soon."

Anna likely wasn't wrong, but with the current, somewhat fragmented state of affairs within their team Elsa wasn't sure if it was in their best interest to take on this mission right now. Hesitantly Elsa looked to Kris, searching him for some sign of what she should do. In spite of an apology having not been spoken between them Kris still looked as he always did – ready to follow Elsa into fire the moment she asked.

When her gaze shifted to Anna Elsa was met with that same excitable determination still burning in Anna's eyes. Unlike Kris' calm, supportive energy, everything about Anna's aura was chaotic. She was a swirling mass of righteous energy waiting to be unleashed on the unfortunate perpetrators of this strange kidnapping spree.

"Oh, fine." Elsa sighed heavily, looking briefly up at the ceiling before settling her eyes back on the one way glass. "We will be accepting mission HR-176, Felix, so pull it off the logs."

The sound of a speaker scratching to life in the room came first, followed by Felix's voice, "You got it, Agent West."

XXX

The work attempting to locate the supposed building hidden among the trees had been intensive to start, but the lack of up to date satellite imagery was making things all the more difficult. With a grand stretch Anna leaned away from her computer screen and sighed dramatically as she feigned dying by falling limp in her chair.

"Have you died again?" Kris asked in monotone.

"Please tell me you found something." Anna groaned, reaching up to rub at her tired eyes.

"As expected, no records of structures being built anywhere near the forest, let alone within it." Kris sighed and leaned back in his chair, looking defeated. "But why lie about something like that?"

"You think he was lying? Elsa seemed pretty certain that he was telling the truth."

There was a hint of bitterness in Kris' tone when he responded, one that Anna hadn't heard from him before. "Yeah, well, we've all been wrong about Elsa before."

Anna half smiled, a confused chuckle escaping her. "What makes you say that?"

Kris' expression sobered instantly as he made a valiant attempt to back pedal, "What? No. Say what? I didn't say anything-"

"Yeah that's the most convincing thing I've ever heard." Anna rolled her eyes, 'reviving' herself and sitting up in her chair. He may not have been entirely specific but the strain in his voice told Anna that things were still difficult between he and Elsa. _Time to help fix this_. "So, you two haven't made up yet I take it?"

"Made up." Kris scoffed and leaned back in his chair, ruffling a hand through his already messy hair. "Not sure how I can do that."

Anna's brows came together in confusion. "What could you have possibly done that she couldn't forgive you for?"

Kris made a grumbling sound and crossed his arms over his chest defensively. "Don't really think I can tell you that."

The wheels in Anna's head began to turn. She found herself thinking back on the night she had run into Elsa, the remnants of tears on Elsa's cheeks and the photo of Elsa and her former teammate slash lover. Kris had said something to her, that much was clear, but what could have possibly gotten them to the point at which Elsa would cry? Or to the point where Kris might think he couldn't be forgiven?

For Elsa to have let Anna _see_ her crying and then reveal so much personal information about herself something major had to have been said, but what? Resolutely Anna put on her most disinterested face, determined to figure out just what happened between Kris and Elsa that night.

"She said something strange when we got back from town, you know." Anna said, careful to speak calmly so Kris wouldn't suspect that she was still prying him for information.

With a curious expression Kris glanced up at her, "Yeah? You guys did find a kid that you both thought was a werewolf. Not every day that you find such a young one, I'm sure she did say some weird stuff."

"No, not about that." Anna feigned a thoughtful look, one that she hoped would look like she was struggling to remember the words (though she hadn't been able to fully put them aside since Elsa had spoken them). "We were talking in the garage and I guess we were out there a while. She said we should get inside before you 'got the wrong idea.'"

Anna made sure to make air quotes around the last bit and make a face for emphasis, then shrugged her shoulders and spun her chair back around before beginning to scroll through images of the forest again. From behind her she could hear the gentle squeaking of Kris' chair as he shifted in it. For a long while there was silence between them, save the gentle rocking squeaks, but eventually Kris sighed loudly.

"You know-" He let out another frustrated sound, "Nope. Not going there."

Excitement welled in Anna's chest as she realized that her plan to wheedle information out of Kris was actually working. She just had to keep pressing the right buttons and he would break soon enough. Anna left a strategic silence after his outburst, even going so far as to click on her mouse a few times as if she had no interest in what was going on. Then, she struck.

Anna hummed, as if she were bored. "What's there to get the wrong idea about anyway?"

"You mean you haven't noticed?"

The words were out of his mouth so quickly that Anna was a little startled. There was no need for Anna to pretend this time, she really wasn't sure what he was talking about

"Noticed what?"

Nervously Kris glanced over his shoulder at the door to his room, tightly secured and shutting them off from the rest of the house. It was like he was taking stock of how sturdy the door was, maybe considering the thickness of the walls or calculating how softly he would need to speak for Elsa not to hear him in passing.

At last he quietly muttered, "How she teases you all the time? How she, how she _looks_ at you?"

"How she looks at me?" Anna parroted, raising a brow at him and laughing. "You mean with disdain?"

"I swear, you two are the most dense people on the face of this planet." Kris growled in a rumbling, frustrated tone, "I thought she had a thing for you, okay? And I made the _clear_ mistake of saying something about it and she-"

"I'm sorry, you thought _she_ had a thing for _me_?" Anna gestured at her entire being, "Have you even seen me?"

"Listen, I've known her a long time and the last time I saw her..." Kris paused mid-sentence, his head tilting to the side and his eyes narrowing. "Wait, why did you say it like that?"

Anna glanced away from Kris for a fraction of a second, an involuntary reaction that confused her just as much as Kris' suggestion had. "What?"

Kris' eyes burned like fire as he stared at her, seemingly reaching deep into her soul in search of the answer he was looking for. Then, he grinned. "Oh Anna..."

Anna tensed at the sing-song tone of his voice, she nervously repeated herself. "What?"

"I have asked you so many times, and you _always_ argue about it." Kris' grin was becoming unbearable, "You like her, don't you?"

Words refused to form in Anna's mouth, her mind couldn't even process a real response for him. "How could I possibly like someone like her? She's rude, condescending-"

"Hey, you're not a treat all the time either Anna!" Kris interjected, looking offended on Elsa's behalf. "Besides, she's also strong, and self-sacrificing-"

"She's my boss!" Anna interjected, but Kris was still going on.

"-and do I even need to mention how hot she is?"

Anna could feel the heat creeping into her face and try as she might she couldn't fight it back. She couldn't even argue her point further for her mind raced back to the night she had accidentally seen far more of Elsa than she intended to, sending Anna into a spiral. Of course Elsa was attractive, but so were plenty of other people that Anna didn't have feelings for!

"I, well, it's not like she would-" As Anna floundered in embarrassment the emotion quickly gave way to a confused frustration, causing her to snap back at him. "Aren't you two still fighting? Why are you wasting your time talking her up to me as if there's even a chance?"

Kris' expression sobered, the irritating grin slipping down into a thoughtful frown. "Point made."

Anna breathed a silent sigh of relief, internally thanking her own quick wit for cutting Kris off before he became too insufferable. Yet as the heat of embarrassment faded the memory of Elsa's tear stained face crept into her memory.

Elsa had been crying openly just moments before seeing Anna that night, she hadn't bothered to hide it, and Elsa had even offered so much more information about Merida than Anna had ever hoped to know. But why? How could Kris suggesting to Elsa that she might have a thing for Anna have led to all of that?

After a brief silence, Anna sighed. "So, what? She got mad when you said she liked me? How did you get from there to Merida?"

By the way Kris was looking at her it was clear to Anna that he wasn't sure he should be saying more about what had been said between he and Elsa. Then, it clicked in her mind – Kris didn't know that she knew about Elsa and Merida. Of course he wouldn't want to betray Elsa's trust, even when fighting his loyalties still ran deep.

"I know about them." Anna confessed, hoping that might ease Kris' mind and let him speak more freely. "She, well, she told me the night you guys fought."

With a defeated sigh, Kris rubbed at his neck. "I brought up how close you two had gotten. She got defensive and I thought maybe she was feeling guilty. I told her Merida wouldn't have wanted her to be alone forever, that's all."

Defensive. Of course Elsa had been defensive. Why wouldn't she be? Kris had accused her of having feelings for someone clearly below her station. Who wouldn't be in that situation? As sure as Anna was about that, something felt like it twisted in her stomach as she mulled over the truth of it.

Anna cleared her throat, trying to release some of the tightness that had suddenly gathered there. "That definitely explains why she was crying, I-"

"She was _crying_?" Kris demanded, getting rapidly to his feet. Panic showed clearly on his face and his next words tumbled out quickly. "I have to talk to her, right now."

"Kris I don't know if-"

Kris was out the door before Anna could even finish her sentence, leaving her to wonder whether or not she should have pressed him for information at all. It hadn't resulted in much good, except that Kris seemed to be on his way to apologize to Elsa. Elsa, who clearly had such an aversion to Anna that she had deemed it an insult for Kris to even suggest that Elsa might care about Anna.

With Kris gone the weight of the information she now had truly began to settle on her mind, bringing with it a strange feeling that Anna struggled to pinpoint. She knew she wasn't disappointed knowing, how could she be?

 _I don't have feelings for her, so why would I be disappointed?_

Still, the odd uneasiness of the now clearly defined line between she and Elsa wasn't easy to swallow. Things had been ambiguous at best between them until now, and in spite of Anna's protests about the constant teasing she couldn't say that she wouldn't miss the thrill of not knowing for sure.

 _If things had been different, what would have happened?_ Anna thought to herself, swiveling in a slow circle in her chair _What would she think of me then?_

Anna laughed aloud at herself, at the absurd reality that she was sitting here daydreaming about something that should have been so trivial when the lives of children were hanging in the balance, waiting for her to find them. Still, in spite of the pressing issue at hand, Anna couldn't shake the intrusive thoughts about what she might have lost.

 _ **a/n: Posting a little early this month, enjoy!**_


	20. One Week

Chapter Twenty: One Week

Staring into the mirror over her sink, hands on either side of the porcelain structure to support herself, Anna reminded herself over and over how lucky she was to be where she was. Lucky to know what she knew, to meet who she had met, and to have survived to recount the tales. How many other people could say that they had experienced this type of life, after all? Still, she certainly didn't feel lucky now.

The more she tried to convince herself that she was satisfied with the way things played out during her talk with Kris the more she realized that nothing could have been further from the truth. Was it the nebulousness of their relationship that had drawn Anna in so deeply without her recognizing her feelings for what they were, or had she simply been so lost in the rhythm of what she didn't know she wanted that she hadn't noticed anything until Kris had mentioned it? Whatever the case, Anna felt much worse now than she ever had before she had known that Elsa had essentially rejected her.

"I don't know why I'm so upset." Anna roughly turned the water on, splashing some of it on her face before turning it off again. "It's now like there was a chance for us anyway, right?"

Anna watched her reflection as she toweled off her face and hands, as if it might animate itself and give her some sort of insight into this difficult situation, but it never did. She drew in a deep, wavering breath as she steadied herself, readying for the day ahead. Another day of teases that she knew now meant nothing, that would lead to nothing but that same dull ache in her chest.

Leaving her room, Anna vaguely registered Kris' voice carrying through the door, but it wasn't until she was out of her room that she caught some of what he was saying.

"-these blue eyes like, like sapphires, Els! I can't believe-"

" _Sapphires_?" Elsa huffed a laugh, shaking her head at him before mock bowing. "Long live the cheese king."

"Hey, I'm just trying to help you out okay?" Kris grumbled over his breakfast, "You might make a connection with her."

Though Anna tried to play it cool she couldn't help the speed with which her eyes snapped to Elsa. She was searching for a reaction, anything to tell her if Elsa might react the same way that Kris had said she had when he mentioned possibly having feelings for Anna. As much as she didn't want to see Elsa's tear stained face again she couldn't help the twinge of pain in her chest as she watched the corner of Elsa's mouth quirk up in a small smile.

 _Oh no_...

"What about you, Anna?" The smirk on Kris' face was knowing, and most certainly bait to trick Anna into admitting something that she _definitely_ didn't need Elsa knowing. "Thoughts on blue eyes?"

Anna hadn't realized that she was still watching Elsa until Elsa's eyes were on her, blue and bright and full of a mystery that Anna would have loved to get lost in. Instead, Anna forced herself to roll her eyes and scoff.

"They're fine, I guess." Anna glared at Kris, openly broadcasting that she was onto his little scheme. "If you're into that sort of thing."

Kris hummed thoughtfully, clearly not put off by Anna's display. "I definitely pegged you as the type to be into blue. Something about you just-"

"Yeah, well." Anna cut him off before he could get too deep into his theory, "Wouldn't be the first time you were wrong, would it?"

As a look of guilt crossed his face Anna could tell that she had won, at least this round.

Elsa glanced cautiously between Anna and Kris, then turned her back on them and threw up a peace sign as she headed toward the front door. "Well then, I guess I'm off to gather some information on our missing kids since it's getting weird in here."

Before Anna could stop herself she nearly shouted, "By yourself?"

With a quick swivel on the balls of her feet Elsa was turned around again, smirking at Anna with her brows raised in a questioning expression. The look made Anna nervous, more than enough for her to begin babbling to fill the silence.

"It's just, shouldn't we be helping you?" Anna laughed nervously, glancing back at Kris for some sort of assistance (which he staunchly refused to give). "You shouldn't have to do all the heavy lifting."

Elsa's smirk shifted seamlessly into a sultry grin. In a fluid motion Elsa raised an arm and shifted the sleeve of her tee back far enough to make the slight bulge of muscle there visible as she flexed playfully.

"I think I'm qualified for a little heavy lifting, don't you?" she asked, winking at Anna.

"If you're so worried, why don't you go with her?" Kris chimed in, smiling triumphantly when Anna whirled around to glare at him.

"I, well, I mean..."

"Ouch." Elsa laughed, but unless Anna was imagining it she actually sounded a little dejected, "I get it, too cool to hang out with me. No big deal."

Anna wanted to say something to the contrary but given her track record she preferred not to give her clumsy tongue a chance to over-correct and embarrass her further. She kept silent until the door shut behind Elsa, then with a newly ignited indignation she rounded on Kris.

"I hate you so much." Anna growled, stepping toward him in a menacing way. "If you hadn't said anything in the first place I wouldn't have ever realized I had this...this..."

"Crush?" Kris suggested, then perked up as a better word came to mind, "Infatuation?"

"What the hell am I supposed to do now?" Anna groaned, pressing her fingers into the sides of her head, "She doesn't like me, so I should just drop it. Why isn't my brain letting me drop it?"

Kris made a nervous sound, or at least it sounded nervous to Anna, and by looking at him he clearly wasn't comfortable with the topic anymore.

"You know something." Anna stepped forward, an accusing finger pointing in his direction. "What do you know, Kristoff Bjorgman?"

"It's just, she never _said_ she didn't have feelings." Kris sounded uncertain about what he was saying, "She never said those words,but-"

It was the tiniest, most minuscule particle of hope, almost not even worth considering, but as Anna's eyes widened at the news she knew what she had to do.

"I'm going after her."

Resolutely she rushed toward the door, snatching a coat from the rack on her way out and struggling to pull it on as she stumbled into the garage.

"Oh, Anna." Elsa sounded surprised, but if she had more to say Anna cut her off before it could be said.

"I'm going with you." Anna declared, nodding as if the action itself would convince Elsa to allow it.

Anna resisted the urge to squirm under Elsa's scrutinizing gaze. For a long while Elsa's expression was difficult to read, but to Anna's relief a smile spread quickly across Elsa's lips.

"You don't look half bad in my jacket, Fields. Come on, get on."

"Get...on?" Anna repeated the words in a daze, her brain only briefly registering what that meant.

 _Oh no. No, no, no!_

XXX

If she had been asked earlier in the day what she thought her evening would have looked like, Elsa would have never in a million years imagined that she would be heading back into the heart of Arendelle with Anna again. Even less likely, that she would be doing so with Anna clinging to her like a baby koala as they roared through town on Elsa's motorcycle.

The instant they stopped moving Anna released her grip on Elsa and scrambled off the bike, yanking her helmet off to reveal flushed cheeks and a dazed look in her eye.

"You good?" Elsa asked, genuinely concerned by the color of Anna's face. "That wasn't your first ride was it?"

"Yep. Great. Fine." Anna responded, shoving her helmet at Elsa.

"If you say so."

"Why are we here anyway?" Anna huffed, following Elsa as they began their trek through town.

Elsa had reason to take a moment and consider how she should response. After all her information about the person who might be able to help had been shady at best, which had been why she had intended on coming alone. She wasn't even sure why she had been so easily convinced to allow Anna to tag along, Anna had outright refused at first but it only took a single sentence for Elsa to agree.

"We're looking for a guy, they call him a doctor but I'm not sure if he's actually a physician." Elsa explained, straightening her jacket as they wandered down a back alley. "Facilier was the name they gave."

"And what a charming name it is."

Elsa calmly turned at the sound of the smooth voice behind her, surprised that she hadn't heard him approaching in spite of the silent streets all around them. A tall, dark skinned man stood there before them with a winning grin on his lips. The strangely decorated hat on his head made him seem even taller than he already was but Elsa couldn't fault him for his impeccable sense of style.

"What a cool party trick." Elsa feigned a warm smile, instinctively repeating something Anna had said to her once before in hopes of charming their new companion. "Popping up out of nowhere like that."

"They don't call me Shadow Man for nothing." The man crooned, giving his cane a little spin before tapping the end back onto the ground with a 'click,' "Now unless I'm mistaken the two of you must be in desperate need to be calling after little old me."

Though his face seemed to outwardly express sympathy for Elsa and Anna, something about the glint behind his eyes told Elsa that they needed to take extra care when dealing with this guy. Anna must not have seen what Elsa saw though, for she immediately began divulging as much as she could.

"We're looking to help with the missing kids around town." Anna explained, "We, well, she heard that you might be able to assist with that."

Facilier took a good long look at Anna, his gaze strangely disconnected, before looking back to Elsa with a despondent frown. "What a sad thing, those children going missing. You've come to the right place though, if anyone can help you the Shadow Man can."

Elsa suppressed her urge to roll her eyes at the way Facilier referred to himself, knowing that if he was actually capable of what she was told that they would most certainly need his help. "You'll help us then?"

There was a quick flash of something on Facilier's face but it dissipated into a contemplative frown before Elsa could pinpoint just what it was. He rocked his cane back and forth in a gentle, almost hypnotic motion before smiling at each of them in turn.

"I think we can reach an agreement of sorts," Facilier paused, settling his gaze on Elsa. "join me in my office and we'll get started."

As Facilier turned to walk away Elsa noticed a door that she hadn't seen in the bricks mere moments ago and looked skeptically back at Anna. When Anna shrugged and stepped forward though Facilier's voice rang out sharp and edging on curt in the otherwise quiet alley.

"Not you, just the blonde."

For the first time in their short interaction he sounded upset, Elsa wondered if she had missed some kind of social cue or if he simply had an aversion to humans. Still, the idea of splitting up didn't sit well with Elsa. She knew that Anna was more than capable of protecting herself but leaving her unattended on a back street of Arendelle in the dark seemed foolish.

"Don't worry," Facilier's tone was sweet and honeyed again, "my friends will keep keep her out of trouble."

Elsa mouthed the words 'his friends' at Anna with a questioning look around. Anna shrugged again and waved her on though and given that Elsa had no real reason to argue against it she followed Facilier into his 'office.'

Passing through the frame felt a little like stepping into another dimension. The room felt strangely open in spite of being lined with shelves upon shelves of books, jars with labels in strange languages, and bunches of little trinkets. Elsa's eyes scanned over everything they could, but her senses were overloaded with the sheer volume of variety here.

"Impressive isn't it?" Facilier preened, as he pulled a chair out for Elsa. "My little collection?"

"Quite." Elsa agreed, slowly sinking down into the seat. "And just what does the Shadow Man need with so many..."

Elsa's sentence trailed off, but Facilier was quick with an assist and a wide smile. "Offerings. From friends far and wide who only wish the best for old Doctor Facilier."

She had to hold her tongue as her eyes flitted from little jars of what looked like dried lizards to clay pots filled with who knows what. "I was told you had, er, methods to gather information that might otherwise be unavailable. As my associate said-"

"Associate." Facilier chuckled, as if the idea of Anna being associated with Elsa was somehow amusing. "What you heard is true though, with the help of my friends I can delve into the shadows and dig up whatever dirt you need."

There it was again, his use of the word 'friends.' This place certainly wasn't large enough to house, or even host, more than a few people at once, so just who were these friends he kept mentioning?

 _No matter. We need to get to these kids as quickly as possible._

"And the price for your assistance?" Elsa asked carefully, a light going on in her mind as she added, "Your assistance, and that of your friends of course."

Just as she suspected, the mention of his friends seemed to make Facilier puff with pride, as if he and he alone had some kind of power over these people he kept referring to. His expression quickly schooled into one of deep thought, as if he didn't already know what price he was going to ask of Elsa. Elsa had the distinct feeling that it was all an act though, why else would he have had Anna stay behind?

"A lock of your hair would do just fine, I think." Facilier raised the head of his cane to his chin thoughtfully, "Werewolf hair is hard to come by in the city."

The hair on Elsa's neck stood on end as she struggled to maintain her calm demeanor. "How did you know what I am?"

"I have my ways."

"You have a black soul, then?" Elsa asked carefully.

"Black soul?" Facilier's face contorted in confusion, "What sort of nonsense is that?"

Elsa fell silent, thoughtfully considering how to explain. "Humans without black souls can't handle knowing about us. They lose their minds, their grip on reality. But you knew what I was without even asking."

"Who filled your head with such fanciful lies, child?" The expression on Facilier's face was almost pitying, then his gaze sharpened as he continued. "How would I function in respectable society if that were true?"

His matter of fact tone paired with all that Elsa had been told about this man were enough to shake the foundations of her knowledge about human and non-human interactions. If his claims were correct then she and so many others had been removed from society for no reason, but what proof did he have but his own word?

No, no matter how heavily the words weighed on her Elsa could not allow herself to lose sight of the mission. There would be plenty of time for musing on the possibility of true co-existence between humans and pseudo's later on.

Elsa cast her eyes to the side and an awkward laugh escaped her as she rubbed the back of her neck in feigned sheepishness, "Just something of an old wives tale I guess."

Facilier hummed but his eyes seemed more keenly trained on Elsa now. She could feel him studying her carefully, but in the end he accepted her answer with no further argument.

"I believe we were discussing fees before all this-" Facilier made a vague gesture with his hand, then leaned over the table toward Elsa, "unpleasantness came up. Now, do we have a deal?"

Elsa knew she had to be careful here, from what she had heard he was a tricky man and neither she nor those kids had time for her to be lulled into a false sense of security. "And for this lock of hair, you provide what exactly?"

"All the information you could need about those poor, poor children."

With the clarification made and no other option in sight Elsa's deft fingers began working her braided hair loose with practiced ease. After locating a lock of hair somewhat hidden, one that wouldn't be too noticeably missed, she slipped a hand into her jacket to retrieve a pocket knife and slice through the sectioned lock.

When Elsa presented it to him Facilier quickly tucked it away. "Now then, how would you like to go about gathering the information you desire?"

"Uh." Elsa hesitated, confused by the question. She had been entirely under the impression that he would be leading their little expedition into the weird and unusual, "...the normal way, I guess?"

The peal of Facilier's laughter echoed strangely in the small room, though Elsa suspected that it shouldn't have given how full the room was with things. He rose up quickly from his place at the table and paced over to a bookcase loaded with all sorts of books and trinkets, Elsa couldn't imagine how he would find any one thing among the clutter.

"There's voodoo, of course, hoodoo..." Facilier paused, seemingly staring at a small, carved box on the shelf. "I haven't even tried this yet."

She couldn't imagine what might have been inside, but she didn't have to wait long. Facilier turned and lifted the lid and Elsa was able to see that it was nothing more than a container for what looked like a deck of tarot cards. Elsa resisted the attempts of her face to express her mistrust, instead she settled for forcing a small smile as Facilier sat opposite her and shuffled the cards as if he had been doing it all his life.

Even the flashy flutter of cards from one hand to another couldn't distract Elsa from the strange sight occurring just behind Facilier, though. Independently from his body Facilier's shadow stood and tipped it's hat in Elsa's direction, causing her eyes to go wide with a mixture of surprise and disbelief.

"No need to be alarmed." Facilier grinned impishly, "My friends are always around, and they _love_ a good time."

Elsa's brows came together as her eyes darted rapidly between Facilier and the wall, processing the fact that, as far as she could see, it didn't seem to be a trick of the light or a projector somewhere in the room. This was really happening, and at such a rapidly accelerating rate. As Facilier tapped the deck on the table a menagerie of shadows joined his own on the wall behind him, some more on the human side, but others were significantly less so in appearance.

"What a tragic life you've lead." Facilier said sympathetically as he flipped the first card, "Torn away from your family, your friends, all for this life of servitude."

Elsa's previously calm facade broke the instant her eyes fell on the card he had set on the table. Painted in picturesque detail was the image of someone that looked remarkably like her, crouched and huddled against a wall. Dark figures, clearly armed, surrounded the figure in a semi-circle, sending a chill up Elsa's spine. It was a perfect image of the night she was taken into S.N.O. custody.

A shaky breath escaped her as she began to reach out for the card, but a quick tut from Facilier sent her hand back into her lap.

"To be worked so hard when you were in pain, suffering at the loss of your love." Facilier continued, flipping another card, "What a shameful thing for them to do to you."

If the first one hadn't elicited a reaction, this one certainly would have. In graphic detail Elsa saw herself kneeling on the cold, leaf strewn ground with Merida's lifeless body clutched in her arms. For a moment she felt as if she couldn't breathe, only the quick movement of a shadow across the wall drew her from her shock.

"What does this have to do with the missing children?" Elsa whispered, too shaken to shout the words.

The atmosphere in the room quite suddenly went strange. Though they lacked eyes it seemed that each and every shadow on the wall appeared to be looking in her direction after her interruption. From the silence rose an ominous whispering, accompanied by the disembodied shadows seeming to gather around one another as if discussing something.

"I didn't mean to question the process..." Elsa breathed, "I'm sorry, continue."

The sound of Facilier flipping the next card was painfully loud in the silence of the room. "I can only imagine that it's these people who filled your head with those silly lies. No doubt to force you to work for them, rather than learn to live among the humans."

Elsa stared down at the card, a perfect replica of their home on the S.N.O. base. "Their research seems to indicate that what they've said is true, but..."

She hadn't been sure of what she intended to say. Had she been ready to express her doubt to a potentially dangerous, unreliable man? Or had she simply meant to express that she would like to have found out more before testing that theory?

Regardless, Facilier didn't seem keen on allowing her much time to consider. He flipped another card, but made no comment on the magnified S.N.O. emblem on it before flipping another that clearly showed a building surrounded by thick trees.

"There we go." Facilier chuckled, "Sometimes they get a little hyper fixated."

"This is it?" Elsa asked, leaning over to gaze inquisitively at the card. "That doesn't give me much to go on."

"I wouldn't send you out of here empty handed." Facilier snapped and the shadows on the walls stood straighter. "Show her the way."

There was a slight hesitation from the shadows, an awkwardly quiet lull during which it seemed like they might not comply. Without a sound they began twisting and contorting, bending and writhing until finally a picture began to emerge. It was a map, if Elsa wasn't mistaken, and she instinctively reached for her phone to snap a photo.

"Ah, ah." Facilier, raised a single, long finger and wagged it at her before gesturing at the table. "Photography is strictly forbidden."

Elsa's gaze followed the length of his arm to where he was pointing. Just as mysteriously as everything else that had happened here in Facilier's office a scrap of paper had appeared from thin air, and as far as Elsa could tell it was a replica of the map that the shadows had formed for her.

"All but one is alive, so you know." Facilier's tone seemed almost flippant as he said it. "With any luck you should be able to complete your mission nearly successfully."

Deciding not to mention her run in with the ghoul, or her knowledge of at least one of the children already being dead, Elsa instead chose to joke with Facilier in hopes of remaining on his good side.

"Full service information." Elsa laughed, waving the map in his direction. "Most of the other people I know would have charged extra for this."

Regret shot through her like a bolt of lightning as she watched Facilier's lips upturn in the most unsettling smile she had seen from him yet. It reminded her vaguely of the ghoul, but it was distinctly human, and far creepier than she was willing to admit.

"My dear, magic always has a price." He inclined his head slightly, tipping his hat in her direction. "It will take what it wants from us when it chooses to do so."

Elsa hardly had time to scrunch her brows together before she felt a strange tugging sensation, it felt as if someone had implanted a hook inside of her stomach and was tugging her backward sharply. As her eyes blinked shut she rapidly found herself alone in an unfamiliar alleyway, and stranger than her sudden removal from the room was the fact that there wasn't a single doorway in sight.

 _ **a/n: Hey all, still alive here! Hope everyone is safe and healthy!**_


End file.
